Free Throw Struggles Doom WPU in Narrow Loss to Peru State
Oskaloosa–Free throw disparities proved costly for the William Penn men’s basketball team, as it fell 77-75 to Peru State in a nail-biting Heart of America Athletic Conference clash on Monday.
Despite extending their losing streak to four games, the Statesmen (8-7, 5-6 Heart) showed improvement, shooting 41.3% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc against the Bobcats (14-3, 10-3 Heart).
The game opened with William Penn quickly erasing a 5-1 deficit with a 16-5 run. After Peru State regained a slim 20-19 lead at the 9:45 mark, WPU responded with a 12-6 scoring surge. The two sides traded baskets late in the first half, with the Statesmen holding a 47-39 advantage at intermission.
Naysean Baisy (Sr., Seattle, Wash., Sports Management) led the first-half charge with 14 points, while LeQuan Washington (Jr., Chicago, Ill.) added 12. Jamir Reed (Jr., Philadelphia, Pa., Sociology with an Emphasis in Criminology) was a force on the boards, contributing eight points and eight rebounds.
The second half featured intense back-and-forth action. Early on, Peru State used a 7-0 run to tie the game at 50-50. From there, neither team managed to establish a decisive edge, with the lead never exceeding five points. In the final moments, Manny Hammonds (So., Des Moines, Iowa, New Media) had two free throws, sinking the first but missing the second. Reed grabbed the rebound but, unfortunately, missed the last-second attempt. Ultimately, the Statesmen came up short in a tightly contested two-point loss.
Baisy finished with a team-high 17 points, while Reed recorded a dominant double-double with 16 points and 16 rebounds. Washington added 15 points, and Yarayah Evans (Jr., Brooklyn, N.Y., Business Management) chipped in eight points, seven rebounds, and three blocks.
The Statesmen matched Peru State nearly shot for shot, shooting 41.3% from the field compared to the Bobcats’ 42.9%. However, free throw shooting proved to be the difference. The Bobcats capitalized on 27 of 39 attempts from the charity stripe, while WPU converted just 19 of 26 tries.
William Penn excelled on the glass, outrebounding Peru State 46-37, including 14 offensive rebounds that translated into 18 second-chance points. However, turnovers hampered the Statesmen’s efforts, as they committed 14 mistakes leading to 17 Bobcat points.
“If we can compete like this all the time and continue to figure some things out, we will be very good soon,” said Head Coach John Henry.
Up Next: William Penn travels to Cedar Rapids to face Mount Mercy in a Heart matchup Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
