William Penn Rallies to Get Back on Top of Heart
William Penn University Athletics
Fayette, Mo.–The Statesmen men’s basketball team has put itself back in the thick of it with a 97-88 Heart of America Athletic Conference road win over Central Methodist Wednesday.
#11 WPU (23-6, 16-5 Heart) shot 60.0% after halftime, and courtesy of Evangel’s upset over #10 MidAmerica Nazarene, the Statesmen will have a chance to play for the league crown Saturday at home against Baker (4 p.m. start). WPU, MNU, and Peru State are all tied at the top of the Heart standings entering the season finale.
The visitors were on fire in the early moments, leading 11-2 just 2:27 into the game. Unfortunately, the Eagles (15-14, 9-12 Heart) figured things out and went on a massive 33-11 run. They would eventually lead 49-42 at halftime.
Despite a couple runs by the navy and gold, CMU remained in control midway through the final stanza at 71-61. William Penn kept at it, however, and finally got back to even with 12 of the next 14 points. Jessie Pernell (Sr., North Augusta, S.C., Physical Education) was a big part of the team’s second-half success, scoring 17 of his 19 points after intermission. The senior also hit WPU’s go-ahead three-pointer inside five minutes to play; he finished 4-for-6 from behind the arc and tallied six assists.
Central Methodist trimmed the margin to a single possession a few times in the waning minutes, but drove the final nail into its proverbial coffin with a technical foul with 36 seconds remaining. Pernell and Jarvis Haywood (Jr., Charlotte, N.C., Business Management) combined for four consecutive free throws to thwart any future CMU threats.
In the end, William Penn was better from the field (57.9%-52.5%) and on the glass (32-20). Both sides made 10 trifectas with the Statesmen owning a better clip (52.6%-43.5%). They also picked up a win at the line (21-14 in made shots).
Although the Statesmen committed one more turnover than the Eagles, they were more opportunistic with a 26-20 edge in points off errors. On the flip side, WPU had one more offensive rebound at 7-6, but CMU tallied an 11-8 margin in second-chance points.
Steven Roundtree (Sr., Jacksonville, Fla., Physical Education) topped the visiting crew by producing his 13th double-double of the year with 23 points and 10 rebounds.
Brady Burford (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Physical Education) and Jarvis Haywood (Jr., Charlotte, N.C., Business Management) both finished with 16 points, while Dondre Alexander (Jr., Iowa City, Iowa, Physical Education) got into double figures as well with 10 points in just 10 minutes of play.
The squad’s 23rd victory ties for the fifth-highest single-season win total in program history.
“We pulled it together late in this game and got a very huge win,” Head Coach John Henry said. “Saturday will be exciting, playing for a share of the Heart regular season title on Senior Day.”
