Statesmen Cool Off as Grand View Wins ‘TP’ Game 73-67
William Penn University Athletics
Oskaloosa–There was no denying that a packed house warmed up Penn Gymnasium Wednesday night, but as the temperature rose inside, the shooting percentages dropped, especially for the home squad, as William Penn fell 73-67 to rival Grand View in Midwest Collegiate Conference action.
The Statesmen (8-10, 3-3 MCC) got on the board first with a three-pointer by Keith Steffeck (Jr., Marion, Marion HS), which cued up the traditional tossing of toilet paper onto the court by the William Penn faithful.
It was one of the few high points in a game that looked little like a matchup between two teams fighting to get on top of the league mountain. With St. Ambrose and Iowa Wesleyan both losing, a three-way tie (4-2) has now been produced atop the standings (St. Ambrose, Grand View, and Ashford), while five programs are huddled together at 3-3. Needless to say, with a dozen games still left to play, the MCC is wide open.
Back to action, the Statesmen were frigid in the first half (29.7%), but trailed by just two at 33-31 entering intermission.
The squads battled through 13 lead changes, with the home team taking its largest lead at 50-46 with 11:19 remaining. Unfortunately, a 10-0 Viking run erased the advantage and the navy and gold never led again.
William Penn did not go quietly, though, scoring five in a row to narrow the margin to 56-55. Grand View, who outshot the Statesmen 37.9%-31.7%, just knocked down a few more shots in the end unfortunately.
Steffeck, in only the third game of his Statesmen career, was a force with 21 points and 11 rebounds for his first double-double. He added two blocks as well.
His stats were big as the Vikings (10-4, 4-2 MCC) completely shut down leading scorer Alan Douglas (Sr., Champaign, Ill., Lakeland CC) to the tune of a career-low two points. Douglas did pull down nine rebounds as Grand View held a slight edge in rebounding (46-45).
Blake Walker (So., Rose Garden, Ga., Campbell HS) also performed at a high level, producing 17 points, including a 9-of-10 showing at the line. Walker entered the night shooting only 53% from the charity stripe. The sophomore also dished out six assists to go with eight rebounds.
Taylor Stoutner (Jr., Keota, Keota HS) added six points in the loss.
Both programs were exceptional in regards to ball control with Grand View committing three turnovers compared to eight for William Penn.
“I did not see this coming,” Head Coach John Henry said. “We had been playing really well, but could not get it done tonight. I am very disappointed in the way we executed. We could have been tied for the conference lead, but we let one slip away.”
“Alan is beat up and obviously had a bad night, but he cannot be asked to carry us every night,” Henry added. “Someone has to step up and Keith and Blake played very well, but even their efforts were not enough.”
Next: The Statesmen host Clarke Saturday in MCC play at 3 p.m.
