Magic Runs Out as Statesmen Fall in National Title Game
The William Penn Statesmen couldn’t buy a bucket during Tuesday nights national title game.
Point Lookout, Mo.–The most successful men’s basketball season in school history was coming to an end one way or another Tuesday night, but unfortunately it did not culminate in a victory as the Statesmen fell 73-59 to #2 seed Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) in the championship game of the NAIA Division II National Championships.
#1 William Penn had its 20-game winning streak snapped to finish the season at 34-2. The Wolves improved to 35-3 to claim its first title ever.
On a night when everything had to go right for the navy and gold to beat their best opponent of the year, little did. A scoring drought of 6:23 to open the second half was one of the biggest, if not the biggest, undoing for the Statesmen who were making their first appearance in a championship game in any men’s sport.
The top-ranked squad fought through the rough patch that put it behind by nine points, but never got back within four again.
Cardinal Stritch took an early 5-2 lead, but in a first half that featured four ties and eight lead changes, the biggest lead was only six points. The Wolves took a 39-36 halftime edge with a 46.2%-42.9% shooting edge.
While it was not as productive shooting the ball, more problematic for the top seed, though, was foul trouble. Keith Steffeck (Sr., Marion, Iowa, Physical Education) played only the first 3:10 after two early fouls and CSU entered the locker room with a 13-3 advantage in made free throws.
Knowing that they are traditionally stupendous after intermission, hopes were still high that the Statesmen would overcome the deficit.
It was just not meant to be, however, as trip after trip in the early parts of the second half came up empty. The Wolves also struggled fortunately and could only extend their lead to nine at 45-36. Brandon Beasley (Sr., Indianapolis, Ind., Physical Education) finally broke through with a bucket at the 13:37 mark, while another score slimmed the margin to five. Cardinal Stritch answered with four straight, however, to go back up by nine.
Two small runs narrowed the deficit to four at the 9:23 mark and six at 2:14, but clutch field goals and several free throws by the lower seed unfortunately put the contest out of reach.
William Penn warmed up a bit after its poor start, but still hit just 22.2% of its tries after half. The Statesmen lost the final shooting battle 50.0%-32.4%. Perimeter play, which had been such a strong key to the team’s success all year, did not work into the team’s favor at 18.8%.
In the end, the free throw margin proved to be the biggest killer, though, as CSU went 20-of-25 and WPU was just 7-of-8.
The Statesmen secured a 35-33 win in rebounds and committed two fewer turnovers (12-14) than Cardinal Stritch.
Beasley, who was named to the all-tournament team, put together a great performance in his final collegiate game. The senior was 8-of-18 for a game-high 23 points and eight rebounds. His 66 tournament rebounds were the second most in championship history, while his overall showing also included four steals, three assists, and two blocks.
Steffeck, also an all-tourney selection, joined Beasley in double figures with 12 points and a squad-best three blocks. The Statesmen blocked seven CSU shots.
Kevin Fay (Jr., Hennepin, Ill., Education) and Blake Walker (Jr., Rose Garden, Ga., Physical Education) notched seven points each, while Taylor Stoutner (Sr., Keota, Iowa, Physical Education) contributed six points.
The loss ends the collegiate careers of Beasley, Steffeck, Stoutner, James Devlin (Sr., Tampa, Fla., Sociology), Arman Rasul (Chicago, Ill., Sociology), and Davis Spielbauer (Wapello, Iowa, Biology).
