William Penn Drops Tight Conference Opener at Benedictine
Atchison, Kan.–The William Penn men’s basketball team dropped its conference opener Saturday, falling 78–73 to Benedictine in Heart of America Athletic Conference action.
The Statesmen (5–2, 0–1 Heart) raced out to a 10–4 start, but Benedictine (3–2, 1–0 Heart) quickly settled in and evened the score at 12–12. The teams traded baskets throughout the first half until the Navy and Gold, trailing 29–25, sparked an 11–0 run ignited by a pair of free throws from Javin Tindall (Jr., Albuquerque, N.M., Sports Management). The Ravens responded late, closing the gap to enter halftime with William Penn holding a narrow 37–35 advantage.
The second half mirrored the first, with momentum shifting possession by possession. A Benedictine three-pointer at the 10:14 mark swung the lead in the Ravens’ favor, and they extended their advantage with eight unanswered points. William Penn clawed back and eventually trimmed the deficit to one, finally retaking the lead at 73–72 with 52 seconds remaining on free throws from Javion Belle-McCrary (Sr., Reform, Ala., Sports Management). The Ravens, however, answered with six straight points in the final minute to seal the win.
Daivion Boleware (Jr., Jackson, Mich., Psychology) paced the Statesmen with 23 points and nine rebounds, while Donovan Rodriguez (Jr., Philadelphia, Pa., Sports Management) added 17 points as the team’s only other double-digit scorer.
William Penn shot 39% from the field compared to Benedictine’s 50%. The Statesmen led in three-point percentage (25%) and free throws (69.7%). They also owned the boards with a 41–35 advantage, including 11 offensive rebounds that led to 13 second-chance points. Benedictine collected five offensive rebounds for four points.
Defensively, the Navy and Gold forced 15 turnovers and turned them into 19 points, while the Ravens capitalized on 18 William Penn turnovers for 16 points. Benedictine held notable edges in assists (21–9) and bench scoring (21–14). William Penn led in fast-break points, 10–8.
“We have to coach better, and that all starts and stops with me as the head coach,” said Head Coach John Henry. “This is an extremely disappointing loss, and I must find a better way to prepare this team.”
He added, “We were down a couple of important pieces tonight. Malik Larane hurt an ankle early and did not return, and Yonis Mohamud was out with a hand injury. We feel like we have depth, but tonight it wasn’t enough.”
Up Next: William Penn travels to Fayette, Mo., to take on Central Methodist in conference play Wednesday at 7 p.m.
