Statesmen Rally Falls Short in Season-Opening Loss
William Penn Men’s Basketball dropped their home opener.
Oskaloosa–The new-look William Penn men’s basketball team gave its home fans a lot to look forward to this season, but unfortunately could not come out on top in a 91-82 loss to Morningside in non-conference action Friday.
The seventh-ranked Statesmen (0-1), who were only outshot 42.9%-41.9%, nearly overcame playing much of the evening without all-Midwest Collegiate Conference star Blake Walker (Sr., Rose Garden, Physical Education).
The senior guard, who finished with four points and two assists in eight minutes of play, was fouled on a dunk attempt with 9:26 left in the first half. Walker came down hard on the floor and did not return to the contest (his prognosis is uncertain).
The hosts struggled out of the gate, falling behind by as much as 16 points before battling back to a five-point halftime deficit at 45-40. William Penn scored eight of the final nine points to enter the locker room with momentum on its side.
The second stanza was unfortunately much like the first with the Mustangs (1-0) pulling out to a 12-point edge. Just like the first session, though, the navy and gold responded. Led by 13 second-half points from Kevin Fay (Sr., Hennepin, Ill., Education), the Statesmen cut the margin to two points on three occasions, including at 78-76 with 2:26 left in regulation.
Fay led all players with 25 points on 8-of-15 shooting, including five three-pointers.
Morningside, which is unofficially #30 in NAIA Division II, unfortunately had the ball roll in its favor in the waning minutes. The visitors answered with eight unanswered and cruised to the win.
The hosts had a tough showing at the charity stripe (17-of-32), while the visitors were 20-of-28 in the contest.
Kelly Madison (Jr., Des Moines, Iowa) and Alec Schwab (Jr., Peru, Ill.) also reached double figures with 13 points each in their WPU debuts. Schwab paced the defense with two steals as William Penn had just one more turnover than the Mustangs, 10-9.
Roberts Baltruns (So., Riga, Latvia) just missed the mark with nine points in addition to a squad-high six rebounds. The Statesmen lost the rebounding battle 48-37.
Vonzell Groom (Jr., Baltimore, Md.), with seven points, and Tyler Stahle (So., Bountiful, Utah), with six points, guided the team’s bench scoring.
“It hurt us a lot playing without Blake,” Head Coach John Henry said. “I cannot help but wonder how he would have impacted that second half.”
“We did not play well, but still had a chance to win late,” Henry added. “It just did not happen, though. We will get better and get back at it tomorrow.”
Next: William Penn remains in Oskaloosa Saturday to host Briar Cliff in non-conference action at 5:30 p.m.
