Statesmen Dominate Second Half to Defeat Missouri Valley
Marshall, Mo.–The William Penn men’s basketball team powered past Missouri Valley after halftime for an 82-68 victory in a Heart of America Athletic competition Wednesday.
The Statesmen (6-1, 3-0 Heart) started strong, building an early 11-8 advantage over Missouri Valley (1-5, 10-3 Heart). WPU then ignited an 11-4 scoring run to stretch the lead to 22-12. However, MVC responded with its own surge, pulling ahead 28-27 at the 7:10 mark in the first half. The tightly contest period ended with the score tied at 39-39 at the break.
Roy Jones III (Sr., Pensacola, Fla., Psychology) tallied all of his eight points in the opening half, as Malique Oates (Sr., Huntsville, Ala., Sports Management) chipped in six points.
The second half saw the squads go back and forth, with the teams locked at 57-57 with 12:48 remaining. The navy and gold caught momentum, though, when Justin Bradley (Jr., Okiwana, Japan, Biology) scored seven consecutive points, including hitting a layup, a free throw, and a dunk. Bradley’s burst ignited the Statesmen to a game-sealing 16-0 run that left the home squad without an answer.
Overall, WPU dominated the stat sheet, outshooting Missouri Valley 47.6%-31.9% from the field and 42.9%-29.6% from beyond the arc. Both teams were solid at the free-throw line, with MVC hitting 14-for-20 (75.0%) and the visitors going 13-20 (65.0%).
William Penn just edged out its host on the glass at 48-41, but trailed on the offensive boards at a 15-11 shortage. Fortunately, the deficit did not affect WPU as both squads managed 10 second-chance points. Turnovers, however, proved a challenge for the Statesmen as their 17 mistakes allowed the Vikings to produce 21 points.
Naysean Baisy (Jr., Seattle, Wash., Sports Management) led the way offensively with 14 points on 5-for-8 from the field. Bradley followed with 13 points, going 6-for-9 from the field. Oates and Yarayah Evans (Jr., Brooklyn, N.Y., Business Management) chipped in 10 and nine points, respectively.
Isaac Hoberecht (Jr., Carl Junction, Mo., Business Management) had a well-around performance, contributing seven points, five assists, three rebounds, three steals, and one block. Jacore Williams (Jr., Little Rock, Ark., Bussines Management) and Evans were dominant on the boards, pulling down nine and seven rebounds, respectively.
“We played solid defense tonight, said Head Coach John Henry. “Their crowd helped to motivate us. Big thank you to them.”
Up Next: William Penn takes on Park in Parkville, Mo. Saturday at 4 p.m. in Heart action.
