Statesmen Hang on for 88-85 Win Over Central Methodist
William Penn Mens Basketball versus Central Methodist
Oskaloosa–Home wins have been a little harder to come by lately, but the Statesmen cagers did just enough to tally one, defeating Central Methodist (Mo.) 88-85 in Heart of America Athletic Conference men’s basketball action Thursday.
#6 William Penn (15-2, 8-1 Heart) muscled up in the waning minutes to, with the help of a Peru State (Neb.) loss, put itself back up by two games in the league standings.
Thursday’s contest featured 15 ties and 11 lead changes, but it looked like it could be a laugher early on with the hosts pulling out to a 15-2 lead just four minutes into play. The Eagles (10-7, 4-5 Heart) would not go without a massive fight, however, as they captured their first edge at 30-29 and led 43-41 at halftime.
CMU was ahead 64-58 midway through the second stanza, but the Statesmen slowly chipped away and went on top for good at 76-74 on a three-pointer by Jessie Pernell (Sr., North Augusta, S.C., Physical Education).
Three more ties followed, but at 81-81 with less than two minutes to go, William Penn tallied back-to-back buckets and never relinquished the lead. The crew had chances to ice the win with a pair of late trips to the charity stripe, but connected on just one of four tries. That left the door open for CMU to possibly force overtime, but Antonio Levy (Jr., Chicago, Ill., Physical Education), who had just managed the final point of the night with three seconds left, picked off the inbounds pass to close it out.
WPU, which overcame being outshot 48.5%-44.9%, also suffered a poor effort at the line (58.6%). Fortunately, the victors won the glass battle 45-34 (21-11 offensive) that led a hefty 24-7 margin in second-chance points. Despite committing one more turnover than the Eagles (14-13), the Statesmen were more opportunistic with an 18-12 mark in points off errors.
A double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds came from Steven Roundtree (Sr., Jacksonville, Fla., Physical Education); he also had two blocked shots.
Jarvis Haywood (Jr., Charlotte, N.C., Business Management) poured in 15 points off the bench on a perfect 4-for-4 showing (5-for-6 FT), while Dondre Alexander (Jr., Iowa City, Iowa, Physical Education) put 14 on the board alongside two steals.
Brady Burford (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Physical Education) matched Roundtree with a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds. Josh Caldwell (Sr., Denver, Colo., Physical Education) finished in double figures as well with 11 points, while Pernell scored eight points with five assists.
“All wins are good wins, even if they are ugly,” Head Coach John Henry said. “The rebounding by Brady Buford and Steven Roundtree was amazing and Jarvis Haywood’s scoring really helped us hold on late.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Atchison, Kan. Saturday to face Benedictine in league play at 4 p.m.
