Dominant Rebounding Performance Not Enough in Loss to SAU
William Penn University Athletics
Davenport–The Statesmen men’s basketball team controlled the glass Saturday afternoon, but missed opportunities doomed WPU in an 86-77 Midwest Collegiate Conference loss to St. Ambrose.
William Penn (14-8, 4-3 MCC) held a huge 52-33 rebounding edge, including a 24-10 mark on the offensive end. All those extra chances were not enough, though, as the visitors failed to overcome 37.1% shooting (SAU was at 44.4%). The Fighting Bees (17-6, 6-1 MCC), who remain atop the league with Clarke, escaped by making seven more free throws (22-15) and committing eight fewer turnovers (7-15) than the Statesmen.
The navy and gold never led in the matchup, managing just two ties, and fell behind by as much as 16 at 40-24 with 5:03 left in the first half. The squad, which trailed 46-34 at intermission, finally began to chip away five minutes into the second stanza. Still down 52-40 with 15:05 on the clock, WPU went on a 14-4 run to cut the deficit to two at 56-54 with 10:25 remaining.
The competitors exchanged buckets over the next few minutes with the Statesmen finally drawing even at 62-62 with 7:10 left. William Penn had the margin at two on three more occasions, but never could get past St. Ambrose on the road. The Fighting Bee advantage was only 75-71 at the 3:16 mark, but the hosts closed it out with 11 of the last 17 points.
Of WPU’s 11 three-pointers, four were made by Tyler Stahle (So., Bountiful, Utah, Business Management) as he tallied a game-high 20 points off the bench. The junior was 6-for-11 from the field, including 4-for-8 behind the arc and 4-for-4 at the charity stripe.
Marc Wilson (Sr., Los Angeles, Calif., Physical Education) recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds. The senior stole two passes as well.
Kelly Madison (Jr., Des Moines, Iowa, Physical Education), with 12 points, and Alec Schwab (Jr., Peru, Ill., Business Management), with ten, also reached double figures.
Roberts Baltruns (So., Riga, Latvia, Business Management) and Blake Walker (Sr., Rose Garden, Physical Education) each had seven-point showings. Walker also assisted on four field goals, while
Erik McGee (Jr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Elementary Education) matched Wilson with 11 boards.
Next: William Penn travels to Clinton Wednesday to face #24 Ashford at 7:30 p.m. in its final non-conference game of the year.
