Cruesoe’s Triple-Double Helps WPU to 10th-Straight Toilet Paper Win

Oskaloosa–For the 10th season in a row, the William Penn men’s basketball team emerged victorious in its annual Toilet Paper Game over the Grand View Vikings.

The Statesmen, who won by a 97-77 margin, improved to 10-0 on the season, and 2-0 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference.

Grand View won the tip, but its first shot was no good. Chanze Cruesoe (So., St. Louis, Mo., Business Management) grabbed the rebound and took the ball up the court. He drove the lane, created some space, and pulled up for a jumper, and when the shot went hit nothing but net, the full capacity crowd let the toilet paper fly.

After the brief cleanup, the Vikings converted the free throw attempt from the technical foul, then quickly took their first lead of the game. It didn’t last long, however, as William Penn went on a 12-3 run, sparked by five points each from Cruesoe and Malyk Thomas (Sr., Copperas Cove, Texas, Sports Management).

The Vikings responded quickly, rattling off nine straight points to retake the lead at 15-14. Malik Edwards (Fr., Drexel Hill, Pa., Business Management) fired back with his first triple of the game, and the two sides traded blows for the next few minutes as neither team was able to gain an advantage.

After the visitors took a 30-28 lead, Thomas came through with a huge layup, drawing a foul in the process. He completed the three-point play to give William Penn a 31-30 lead, then promptly intercepted a pass and had a breakaway dunk. The Statesmen got another defensive stop, then fired off a triple on the other end. The shot was off the mark, but Frederick Jackson (Sr., Killeen, Texas, Interdisciplinary Studies) had a strong offensive rebound and got the put-back to go.

Cruesoe got the block on the other end and the Statesmen had numbers on the fastbreak. Cruesoe lobbed it up, and Kevion Blaylock (Sr., Houston, Texas, Information Systems) finished with a thunderous one-handed jam. The nine-point run forced a Grand View timeout, and also gave William Penn a seven-point lead once again at 37-30.

Just as before, the Vikings clawed back again, evening the score at 40 with just over three minutes remaining in the half. Reyhan Cobb (Jr., Atlanta, Ga., Sociology) got a layup and a foul, converting the three0point play to give the Statesmen the lead again, and Q Cager (Sr., Hopkinsville, Ky., Wellness and Recreation) picked the pocket of the Vikings, taking it himself for the dunk. The late burst gave the Statesmen a 47-42 lead heading into halftime.

The navy and gold wasted no time adding to their lead after the break, as Jackson got loose and slammed one home only nine seconds into the second half. After leading all scorers through 20 minutes, Thomas stayed hot as well, adding another five in a row to get the lead back out to eight.

Grand View cut the lead all the way down to two, but it was as close as it would get for the rest of the night. Cruesoe buried a triple and, after a minute and a half of scoreless play from both sides, Josh Watkins (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Sports Management) followed suit. Watkins hit another one from beyond the arc, then drove into the paint for a layup. Cager added another basket, and all of a sudden, the Statesmen led by 12 with the score sitting at 70-58.

The Statesmen continued to pile on, as they used a 13-3 run to push the lead all the way out to 24, their largest of the night. The Vikings did not pose another serious threat to recapture the lead, as Brandon Doss (Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio, Sports Management) helped seal the game with four straight points in the final minute.

Cruesoe, after igniting the toilet paper frenzy, continued his torrid stretch of play with a historic performance, recording a triple-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. Cruesoe’s efforts marks the program’s first triple-double since Abrian Edwards did it on February 9, 2019.

Thomas led the Statesmen with a season-high 21 points. Blaylock recorded another double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds, while Watkins finished with 14 points. Cager had a solid night on both sides of the ball, finishing with nine points, four rebounds, four assists, and three steals.

“It was a great environment tonight. I want to say a big thank you to our fans and to the game operations staff for all they do for us,” said Head Coach John Henry.

What’s Next: The Statesmen have another home Heart tilt on Saturday against the Culver-Stockton Wildcats. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 PM.