William Penn Throttles Clarke in Wire-to-Wire Win
William Penn University Athletics
Dubuque–The second-ranked Statesmen cagers were never really threatened on the road Saturday as they pounded Clarke 102-72 in Midwest Collegiate Conference action.
William Penn (24-1, 8-0 MCC), winners of ten in a row, remained perfect in league play by dominating all aspects of the contest in their ninth game over the century mark this season.
The Statesmen outshot the Crusaders (10-13, 4-5 MCC) 47.9%-40.0%, held a 51-35 rebounding edge, and committed just 14 turnovers (16 for Clarke). The visitors owned sizeable advantages in points off turnovers (25-13) and second-chance points (17-6).
The navy and gold pulled out to a 24-10 advantage just 7:45 into the afternoon, eventually leading 50-31 at intermission. Clarke narrowed the margin to 12 at 50-38, but 11 unanswered by WPU put the game out of reach and finished off William Penn’s second season sweep over an MCC foe (also swept St. Ambrose last week).
Keith Steffeck (Sr., Marion, Iowa, Physical Education) headlined a list of five Statesmen in double figures as he tallied a career-high 30 points. The senior was 11-of-18 from the field (4-of-9 3-PT).
Brandon Beasley (Sr., Indianapolis, Ind., Physical Education) was next with 18 points. Both players pulled down a game-best 13 rebounds, while Steffeck had two steals and Beasley had two blocks.
Taylor Stoutner (Sr., Keota, Iowa, Physical Education), with 15 points, James Devlin (Sr., Tampa, Fla., Sociology), with 13 points, and Kevin Fay (Jr., Hennepin, Ill., Education), with 11 points, also hit the double-digit mark. Devlin and Blake Walker (Jr., Rose Garden, Ga., Physical Education) both dished out six assists.
William Penn connected on 15 three-pointers (three for Clarke) and also topped the Crusaders in made free throws (17-13).
“We played pretty well today,” Head Coach John Henry said. “This was a really good team win with a lot of people contributing. James and Keith were awesome and Erik McGee (So., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Undecided) continues to improve and is really coming on.”
Next: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa Wednesday to host AIB in MCC action at 7:30 p.m.
Comments
