Statesmen Drop First Road Contest of Season
William Penn Men’s Basketball in their 2013-14 home opener.
Crete, Neb.–The William Penn men’s basketball team almost reached the century mark Tuesday, but a struggling defensive effort doomed the squad in a 115-98 loss to Doane in non-conference action.
The Statesmen (0-3) hit 48.1% of their floor attempts, but the Tigers (2-0) were even better at 61.3%, including 59.3% from behind the arc.
The visitors took control early with an 11-6 lead just 2:38 into the evening. Doane responded quickly, though, with a 12-4 run and never trailed again. The home squad, highlighted by a 66.7% shooting clip, led 61-49 at halftime.
William Penn narrowed the deficit to nine twice in the second stanza, but could get no closer as it still seeks its first win.
All of WPU’s five starters reached double digits, led by 26 points from Kelly Madison (Jr., Des Moines, Iowa, Physical Education) on 11-of-19 shooting. He also led the defense with two steals as William Penn had one less turnover than the Tigers, 12-11.
Blake Walker (Sr., Rose Garden, Physical Education) and Alec Schwab (Jr., Peru, Ill., Business Management) each managed 16 points, while Roberts Baltruns (So., Riga, Latvia, Business Management) added 12 points.
Kevin Fay (Sr., Hennepin, Ill., Education) also eclipsed the mark with 11 points. Mike Aldeman (Jr., Iowa City, Iowa) had a solid offensive showing as well with six points, pacing the navy and gold at the charity stripe by going 4-for-4. The Statesmen had an improved effort at the line (17-of-25, 68.0%), but could not keep pace with Doane (23-of-29, 79.3%).
Erik McGee (Jr., Oskaloosa, Iowa) pulled down a team-best nine rebounds as WPU owned a 36-35 edge in rebounding. William Penn also outscored the Tigers 56-36 in the paint.
Next: The Statesmen travel to Lamoni Friday to face Graceland in non-conference action at 7:30 p.m.
