Statesmen Drop Central Methodist 74-71

William Penn University Athletics

Fayette, Mo.–The William Penn men’s basketball team survived another strong road test Saturday as it slipped past Central Methodist 74-71 in Heart of America Athletic Conference action.

#4 WPU (16-2, 12-2 Heart) outshot the Eagles (11-8, 8-7 Heart) 45.5%-37.5% and dominated the glass 45-29, but had to overcome 21 turnovers to push its winning streak to five games. Graceland also helped the Statesmen by defeating Grand View, giving the navy and gold a two-game lead atop the Heart standings.

The visitors led by as much as 13 late in the first half, eventually settling on a 41-32 edge at intermission. The hosts quickly began to eat away at the lead, however, and tied the contest at 53-53 with 11:06 still to go.

It was a tight matchup from there on with neither side holding more than a four-point lead, that being courtesy of CMU at 64-60 with 4:43 remaining.

William Penn, which outscored the Eagles 17-5 in second-chance points, responded with six straight points. Unfortunately, the Statesmen never got out of the woods with the score being tied three more times, the last coming at 70-70.

Torren Jones (Sr., Chandler, Ariz., Sociology) gave his team the advantage for good at 72-70 on a bucket with 1:14 left. The navy and gold defense then managed a stop, but an offensive foul called on Jarvis Haywood (Sr., Charlotte, N.C., Business Management) turned the ball right back to Central Methodist.

On the other end, the Eagle’s Ron Lee, the league’s top scorer, was fouled on a drive to the basket, but converted on just one free throw to make it 72-71 with eight seconds on the clock.

Lionel Ellison (Sr., New Orleans, La., Kinesiology) collected the inbounded ball and was immediately fouled. The senior cashed in on both tries, extending the edge to 74-71.

The coaching staff then decided to foul Lee before he could get off a tying three-pointer (1.8 seconds left) and the gamble paid big dividends as he missed the first throw and deliberately misfired on the second. Jones fortunately hauled in the rebound to secure the victory.

CMU stayed close by only committing nine turnovers and outscoring the Statesmen 23-11 in points off mistakes.

Haywood (17 points and nine rebounds) and Jones (17 points and eight rebounds) both narrowly missed double-doubles. Kevin Smith (Sr., Baltimore, Md., Physical Education) followed them with nine points, while Dashawn Benson (Jr., Uniondale, N.Y., Sociology) added six points off the bench. Ellison and Charles Knowles (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Physical Education) tallied five points apiece Saturday.

“This was a great team win,” Head Coach John Henry said. “We played a lot of guys tonight and all contributed. We overcame a lot of adversity for this big road win. I am very proud of our team and the women’s team as well for their win!”

Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa next Wednesday to host Peru State in Heart action at 7:30 p.m.

Posted by on Jan 22 2017. Filed under College Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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