WPU Falls to GVU in OT
William Penn University Athletics
by Wade Steinlage
Des Moines–Rivalry games are always a crapshoot and unfortunately the dice fell in favor of Grand View Thursday as the Statesmen men’s basketball team dropped a 73-69 Heart of America Athletic Conference overtime decision.
Even with Omar Sherman (Sr., Duncanville, Texas) producing a double-double of 18 points and 18 rebounds in his return to action, #2 William Penn (16-4, 10-4 Heart) could not get enough going, especially from the perimeter (16.0%, 4-for-25), as it fell for the third time in four games.
The visitors were in control early with a 22-12 advantage, but 13 of the next 15 points came from the Vikings (9-9, 5-8 Heart); GVU led 29-28 at the break.
WPU recaptured the advantage at 51-49, but for the most part in the second half, the navy and gold were playing catch-up to their hosts. Down five, though, with less than two minutes to go, Marlon Alcindor (Sr., Queens, N.Y., Sociology) connected on a three-pointer and Sherman hit a bucket to knot the score at 60-60.
The sides exchanged free throws in the waning seconds, but Grand View still had a chance to win. The hosts fortunately failed not convert and WPU went to overtime for the second time in three outings.
Unfortunately, just like last Wednesday against Culver-Stockton, the Statesmen did not have luck on their side. GVU managed the first five points, but William Penn answered with five of its own. The next three came from the Vikings and the navy and gold were only able to respond with a pair of free throws by Abrian Edwards (Sr., Austin, Texas, Kinesiology) with nine ticks remaining. Edwards finished with 14 points, four assists, and two steals, while he and his teammates were a combined 17-for-21 at the charity stripe (81.0%) to keep the visitors close.
Grand View, on the other hand, struggled at the line (17-for-31), and could only push the edge to two with one make at the three-second mark. The defense, however, stymied the Statesmen response as Sherman’s game-tying shot was blocked and two final Viking free throws iced the bout.
At the final buzzer, William Penn was outshot 42.4%-35.3%, but held a 44-42 edge on the glass which resulted in a huge 15-4 mark in second-chance points. The team was unable to overcome 16 turnovers (12 for GVU).
Darius Wheeler (Sr., Jonesboro, Ga., Sports Administration) joined Sherman and Edwards in double figures with 10 points, while Eddie Daley (So., DeWitt, Mich., Sports Management) was next with eight points. The trio of trio of Alcindor, Q Cager (Fr., Hopkinsville, Ky., Sports Management), and Shamar Bailey-DeCoteau (Jr., Toronto, Ontario, Undecided) each added five points in the setback.
Next Up: William Penn travels to Peru, Neb. Saturday to face #17 Peru State in Heart action at 4 p.m.
