Walker’s 21 Points Lead Navy and Gold to Ninth Straight
William Penn University Athletics
Oskaloosa–The William Penn men’s basketball team roared out to a big lead and cruised to yet another victory–its ninth in a row–with a 92-67 win over old Iowa Conference rival Central Wednesday.
The Statesmen (9-4) outshot the Dutch (3-3) by a 45.9%-29.7% margin in the first half to take a 45-26 intermission edge. The visitors scored the first two points, but WPU answered with 15 in a row, including eight by Blake Walker (Sr., Rose Garden, Physical Education) to start the contest.
The visitors narrowed the edge to 18-9, but all it did was serve as the last time William Penn’s advantage would not be in double digits.
WPU faltered a bit from the field in the second stanza, hitting just 37.8% of its tries (Central was 45.7%). Fortunately, 16 offensive rebounds were converted into 25 second-chance points and the Dutch never threatened the home squad. The Statesmen concluded the night with a 27-5 margin in second-chance points and tallied a 59-36 overall mark on the glass (24-9 offensive). The 59 boards were a season high.
A 15-9 edge in points off turnovers was procured as WPU made one less mistake (9-10). The final shooting tally went in favor of William Penn 41.5%-37.5%.
Walker topped his team with 21 points on 9-for-14 shooting. He also dished out four assists, matching Mike Aldeman (Jr., Iowa City, Iowa, Education) in that category.
Kevin Fay (Sr., Hennepin, Ill., Elementary Education) was one of several Statesmen who struggled from the behind the arc, so he made his mark at the charity stripe with a 7-for-10 showing that led to 12 points. WPU overcame going only 11-for-43 (25.6%) from the perimeter.
Kelly Madison (Jr., Des Moines, Iowa, Physical Education), with 11 points, and Tyler Stahle (So., Bountiful, Utah, Business Management), with ten points, also reached double digits.
Marc Wilson (Sr., Los Angeles, Calif.) and Erik McGee (Jr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Elementary Education) contributed eight points each, while Alec Schwab (Jr., Peru, Ill., Business Management) managed six in the win. Wilson also paced the hosts in rebounds (9) and steals (3). Madison had nine rebounds as well, and McGee blocked two Dutch shots.
Next: The Statesmen will hit the books next week for finals, returning to action for two final pre-holiday games in Kansas. William Penn first travels to Wichita, Kan. on Tuesday, December 17 to meet Friends at 8 p.m. The following day, the navy and gold go to North Newton, Kan. to play Bethel at 8 p.m.
