Finals Bound!! Statesmen Dominate Second Half for 79-58 Win Over Grace (Ind.)
Everyone reacts to the ‘Thunder Dunk’ by Brandon Beasley during the semi-finals against Grace
Point Lookout, Mo.–Monday’s second half was owned by the top-ranked William Penn men’s basketball team as it will advances to its first-ever national title game with a 79-58 win over #20 seed Grace (Ind.) in the semifinals of the NAIA Division II National Championships.
The Statesmen (34-1) will meet #2 seed Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) in the championship matchup Tuesday at 8:05 p.m. It will be the first championship game for the Wolves (34-3) as well after they defeated #11 seed Indiana-Southeast 69-56 in the other semifinal.
The championship game appearance is the first for any Midwest Collegiate Conference men’s basketball program. KBOE will again be offering an audio broadcast of the game on 104.9 FM as well as on the web at http://radio.securenetsystems.net/v5/KBOE.
Otherwise, the only way to view the game is by locating a cable provider that offers CBS Sports Network as part of its sports package.
Two good nights of rest helped the navy and gold store up some energy as they stormed past the Lancers (24-10) in the second stanza. No last-second heroics were needed this time around. Instead the top team in the land had four players in double figures and broke up a halftime tie with a 43-22 advantage after intermission.
The lower seed came to play early in the semifinal, going up 7-2 in the first two-plus minutes. That advantage shrunk a bit before growing to ten at 31-21 with 5:52 remaining in the first half.
Fortunately, the Statesmen caught fire and scored 11 in a row to take their first lead of the game at 32-31 just 2:05 later. Points were exchanged over the next few minutes with the Lancers having the last say to tie the contest at 36-36 heading into the locker rooms.
Head Coach John Henry’s halftime pep talk must have been one of his best ever as the Statesmen flew out of intermission with six consecutive points. The navy and gold never trailed again, but could not get above seven points until the midway point of the post-intermission session.
Leading by only three at 54-51 with just over nine minutes on the clock, Kevin Fay (Jr., Hennepin, Ill., Education) drained back-to-back three pointers and the rout was on. The buckets were the start of a 12-0 WPU run and Grace never got within single digits again.
The Lancers did attempt one last-chance effort, however, narrowing the deficit to ten at 68-58 with 4:11 remaining, but William Penn rolled to the finish with the game’s final 11 points for its most lopsided win of the tournament.
The Statesmen only outshot Grace 35.7%-31.3%, but they limited their foes to just 22.9% in the second stanza, including a 15.4% mark from behind the arc. The Lancers were dramatically better in the first half, going 5-of-10.
William Penn, which is now for the first time above .500 at the Championships (4-3), was just 9-of-32 from downtown (28.1%). That was countered, though, by outscoring Grace 20-9 in made free throws (WPU was 20-of-27).
No single player stood out on the historic night, but Keith Steffeck (Sr., Marion, Iowa, Physical Education) took the honor for most points with 18. After doing so much damage from the perimeter in earlier tourney games, the senior was 7-of-14 from the field, including 6-of-7 inside the arc.
James Devlin (Sr., Tampa, Fla., Sociology) was next with 17 points, highlighted by a team-best three trifectas and a 6-of-6 showing at the line, while Brandon Beasley (Sr., Indianapolis, Ind., Physical Education) produced 15 points. Both Beasley and Devlin managed two steals.
Beasley, with 12 rebounds, and Steffeck, with ten, each finished with double-doubles. It is Beasley’s 15th double-double of the campaign and Steffeck’s ninth.
Fay joined the double-digit group with 11 points, while Taylor Stoutner (Sr., Keota, Iowa, Physical Education) notched eight points in addition to a career-high 11 rebounds.
The Statesmen held a slim 47-42 margin on the glass, but 16 offensive rebounds were converted into a 20-13 edge in second-chance points.
Blake Walker (Jr., Rose Garden, Ga., Physical Education) contributed a team-best five assists, and Steffeck recorded two of his squad’s five shots.
William Penn committed just 11 turnovers compared to 14 by the Lancers, good for a 17-8 mark in points off turnovers.
“Our second half defense was the best we have had all year,” Henry said. “This incredible season has one more game in it–the national title game. I cannot believe it! What an amazing ride this has been!”
