Statesmen Escape Vikings in Overtime
On TP Night, Steven Roundtree scored 29 points with 13 rebounds and four steals
Oskaloosa–Fans packed inside Penn Gymnasium were treated to extra play on what is always the most entertaining night of the year as the William Penn men’s basketball team had to go to overtime, but still held on for an 88-82 win against Grand View in Heart of America Athletic Conference play Wednesday.
Courtesy of Graceland’s upset of #17 Peru State, the seventh-ranked Statesmen (19-4, 12-3 Heart) are now once again one game ahead in the Heart standings. The win sets up a critical matchup Saturday with #20 MidAmerica Nazarene (11-4 Heart) in Olathe, Kan. at 4 p.m.
WPU won the opening tip and Dondre Alexander (Jr., Iowa City, Iowa, Physical Education) launched a quick jumper. It misfired, but Brady Burford (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Physical Education) pulled down the rebound and flushed it down, allowing the toilet paper to make its appearance just seven seconds into the matchup.
It was soon apparent that the game would be much more than the annual celebration. In a contest with eight ties and 10 lead changes, GVU (11-11, 5-10 Heart) was in the party-ruining mood. The visitors ran out to an 11-4 edge, but the Statesmen bounced back and eventually led 42-38 as the teams went to the locker rooms.
At that point, WPU was being outshot, but was still on top with seven more rebounds, including six on the offensive end. That did not change in the second half as the hosts finished with a 63-42 margin on the glass (28-11 offensive). Unfortunately, that was not enough to put the Vikings easily. The Statesmen had their foes in a sizeable hole at 54-42, but watched as they dug out to tie the score at 61-61 with 8:33 remaining.
William Penn remained in the black until the final minute when the pesky Vikings took back the advantage at 76-75. With ice water flowing in his veins, however, Steven Roundtree (Sr., Jacksonville, Fla., Physical Education) was fouled on consecutive trips down the floor and hit all four free throws to make it 79-76 with 11 seconds left.
The Vikings found some magic in their last timeout, though, and Kerry Green’s desperation three-pointer from the left wing went in to force overtime.
Fortunately, the extra period belonged to the Statesmen as GVU lost a trio of post players to fouls. That opened the door for the home squad, which scored the final seven points of the night to finish off the season sweep.
Both sides were cold from the field with the Vikings edging the Statesmen 38.8%-35.6%. WPU also fell short in made free throws 24-19, but season highs in offensive and total rebounds led to the extra points it needed; the Statesmen outscored GVU 21-11 in second-chance points.
Roundtree posted another huge performance, leading all players with a double-double of 29 points and 13 rebounds. The senior stole four passes as well.
Alexander added 17 points, while Burford recorded the team’s second double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds (also had three blocks).
Jessie Pernell (Sr., North Augusta, S.C., Physical Education) and Shane Bosek (Sr., Lowry, Minn., Physical Education) both tallied nine points and Charles Knowles (Jr., Chicago, Ill., Physical Education) added six in the victory. Pernell dished out five assists as well.
William Penn, which improved to 2-0 in overtime this winter, committed one fewer turnover (17-18), but Grand View was more opportunistic at 16-7 in points off turnovers.
“I want to thank our fans for a great atmosphere tonight and Booster Club Director Nik Rule for helping create that atmosphere by giving out over one thousand Penn Zone t-shirts,” Head Coach John Henry said.
“Steven Roundtree is one of the top three players we have ever had here; he is so efficient and does a lot of everything on both ends of the floor,” Henry added. “He really is a special player. Shane Bosek’s offense in the first half was big for us and Charles Knowles and Nick Jeffries were equally big on defense as well.”
“Finally, I want to give a shout-out to the women’s team as well,” Henry said. “This is the first time we have both swept Grand View in the same season and I am very happy for Coach Scott and his players. They have been through a lot and they keep working. These season sweeps mean a lot to both Coach Scott and myself.”
