William Penn Pulls Away from Baker for 104–82 Conference Win
Oskaloosa–The William Penn men’s basketball team delivered a wire-to-wire performance Saturday, rolling past Baker 104–82 in a Heart of America Athletic Conference matchup.
The Statesmen (9–3, 4–2 Heart) weathered an early back-and-forth stretch with the Wildcats (5–8, 3–3 Heart), edging ahead 14–13 before flipping the game with a decisive run. WPU rattled off eight unanswered points and later closed the half on a 20–5 surge to build a commanding 42–26 advantage. While the teams continued to trade baskets down the stretch of the opening period, the Statesmen carried a 54–38 lead into halftime.
William Penn’s shooting set the tone early, as the Navy and Gold connected on 58.1% of their field-goal attempts and 42.9% from three-point range in the first half. Baker was held to 36.4% shooting overall and 37.5% from deep. Foday Sheriff (Jr., Upper Darby, Pa., Business Management) led WPU in the opening half with 14 points.
Baker made a push in the opening five minutes of the second half, but William Penn answered behind a 14-point performance from Donovan Rodriguez during that stretch to keep control of the game. At the 16:19 mark, the Statesmen began a 14–6 scoring run to extend the lead to 78–54. The teams traded possessions over the next several minutes before William Penn added a 16–9 stretch to maintain separation. Baker was unable to mount a sustained response as the Statesmen closed out the contest with a 104–82 victory.
William Penn finished the game shooting 49.3% from the field and 40.6% from beyond the arc, compared to Baker’s 41.1% overall shooting and 34.5% from three. Rodriguez poured in 17 second-half points to finish with a game-high 25.
Rodriguez paced the Statesmen with 25 points, leading a balanced scoring effort. Malik Larane (Jr., Palmdale, Calif., Sports Management) added 15, while Sheriff and Daivion Boleware (Jr., Jackson, Mich., Psychology) scored 14 apiece. Sheriff also pulled down nine rebounds. Chase Page (Sr., Melbourne, Australia, Business Management) and Javion Belle-McCrary (Sr., Reform, Ala., Sports Management) each chipped in 11 points, with Page collecting four steals and Belle-McCrary posting three blocks.
The Statesmen held a narrow 45–42 edge on the glass and converted second chances efficiently, owning a 22–14 advantage in second-chance points despite Baker holding a slight 17–16 edge in offensive rebounds.
WPU also capitalized on turnovers, scoring 23 points off 17 Wildcat miscues, while Baker managed 16 points off 15 Statesmen turnovers.
William Penn’s bench played a key role as well, outscoring Baker’s reserves 44–32.
“We had a good week of practice, and it showed today,” said Head Coach John Henry. “The players and coaching staff did a great job of preparing and handling the distraction of finals week.”
Up Next: William Penn heads to Milwaukee, Wis., to face Rochester Christian (Mich.) at the Milwaukee Bucks’ Fiserv Forum on Thursday at 12:30 p.m.
