Statesmen Unable to Hold Off Mustangs’ Second-Half Surge
Sioux City, Iowa—The William Penn men’s basketball team fell short against Morningside in a 95-83 non-conference loss Friday night.
The Statesmen (3-2) opened the game strong, trading buckets with the Mustangs (4-0) before taking control at 31-21 with just over 11 minutes remaining in the first half. The Statesmen were able to hold onto their 10-point edge the remainder of the first half, entering halftime leading 53-43.
The Statesmen’s first-half offense was primarily run from beyond the arc as they knocked down 10 three-pointers at a 66.7% rate, compared to the Mustangs shooting just 1-for-11 (9.1%). Active defense and quick hands from Morningside, though, were the biggest factors in keeping the game competitive as it forced the navy and gold into 10 first-half turnovers.
WPU’s hot shooting continued into the second half as it was able to carry its 10-point lead to the 13:43 mark. Morningside began to chip away, though, eventually catching William Penn at 80-80 with 5:30 to go.
The remaining five-plus minutes of play were then unfortunately dominated by MU as it outscored the Statesmen 15-2 down the stretch.
When the dust settled, William Penn owned a 43.9%-38.7% shooting edge, including a strong three-point effort at 13-for-25 (52.0%), while the Mustangs were just 2-for-22 for 9.1%. The game was decided at the free-throw line, though, where the Mustangs more than doubled the Statesmen attempts, going 35-for-47 compared to WPU’s 12-for-22.
The Mustangs held the edge in rebounding too at 35-27, which translated to a 16-2 advantage in second-chance points. Ball control issues (19 turnovers, nine for MU) also posed a major problem as the Statesmen were outscored 20-14.
Malik Larane (Sr., Palmdale, Calif., Sports Management) led the way for the Statesmen with 19 points (17 in the first half), followed by Maki Pettigrew (Jr., Philadelphia, Pa., Business Management) with 17 and Donovan Rodriguez (Sr., Philadelphia, Pa., Sports Management) with 15. Alif Bass (Sr., Newark, N.J., Sports Management) and Ronsione Thomas (Fr., Indianapolis, Ind.) each contributed eight points, while Brayden Long (Jr., Bradley, Ill.) added six and Jake Harbatkin (Fr., West Palm Beach, Fla., Kinesiology) chipped in five.
The WPU defense was anchored by Joe Poyser (Jr., Wildwood, Fla., Elementary Education) as he finished with two blocks and four rebounds.
“Morningside has a tremendous team; are a final four caliber group this year,” Head Coach John Henry said. “We were ahead most of this game, only to let it get away from us in the final five minutes. We have some time now to regroup and get healthy before conference play starts.”
Up Next: William Penn is back in Oskaloosa next Saturday, November 14 as its open Heart of America Athletic Conference play against William Woods at 6:00 p.m.
