Henry Nets Win #200, WPU Secures First-Round Home Game in MCC Blowout
William Penn University Athletics
Oskaloosa–Wednesday night was a big one in more ways than one can count as the William Penn men’s basketball team produced a 104-70 Midwest Collegiate Conference victory over AIB.
With the win, William Penn (16-13, 11-6 MCC) assured itself of not only a winning campaign, but it also locked up a first-round MCC Tournament game next Thursday night in Oskaloosa (opponent to be determined).
The navy and gold now set their sights on Ashford Saturday in Clinton (3 p.m.) in a battle for the #2 seed. The spot is extremely crucial as the ten-team MCC receives two automatic berths this year with one already claimed by regular season champion #16 St. Ambrose.
If the Fighting Bees would happen to sweep the titles, the other bid automatically goes to the #2 team from the regular season, so there are two ways (win the league tourney or have SAU win it) for the second seed to qualify for the national tournament.
The win was also the 200th in Head Coach John Henry’s terrific career at William Penn. Henry, now 200-152, took over the program midway through a difficult 2001-2002 season that witnessed the Statesmen go 2-30.
He immediately turned William Penn on its head, leading the team to ten-straight seasons with at least 14 wins (eight winning campaigns). The team has claimed three MCC regular season crowns, two MCC Tournament titles, and has advanced to the NAIA National Championships twice.
But Wednesday was not about the head man, but about a team that knocked down a school-record 18 three-pointers en route to its second-largest victory of the year. The old record was 17 (twice).
It was not just a walk in the park early, though, as the Eagles (2-27, 1-16 MCC) remained close and actually led 21-20 at the 9:54 mark of the first stanza. Fortunately, the home team sprung to life and went on a 28-14 run to close out the half up 48-35.
The final 20 minutes belonged to William Penn, headlined by six three-pointers for Davis Spielbauer (Jr., Wapello, Wapello HS), who finished with a game-high 23 points (seven trifectas).
Five others players reached double digits as the Statesmen held a nominal 48.2%-43.1% shooting advantage, but scored 27 points off AIB turnovers and 19 on second chances (54-35 edge on the boards). AIB had 20 turnovers, while the navy and gold coughed the ball up 12 times.
Keith Steffeck (Jr., Marion, Marion HS) scored 16 points off the bench (four three-pointers), while Blake Walker (So., Rose Garden, Ga., Campbell HS) posted a double-double of 14 points and ten assists (seven rebounds as well). The performance is Walker’s seventh this winter.
Arman Rasul (Jr., Chicago, Ill., Illinois-Chicago) added 11 points and ten points came from both Alan Douglas (Sr., Champaign, Ill., Lakeland CC) and Ross Howe (So., State Center, West Marshall HS). Douglas was in the same boat as Walker as he also nearly posted a triple-double with nine rebounds and seven assists. Howe also corralled eight rebounds and Rasul blocked two shots,
Austin Emerson (Jr., Des Moines, Southwestern CC), with seven points, and Taylor Stoutner (Jr., Keota, Keota HS), with six, found success on the offensive end as well.
“I am really happy that we locked up another winning season,” Henry said. “These kids are so much fun to work with daily and having accomplished this feat feels really good. It was great to see Davis Spielbauer back healthy and shooting as well as he did. That just gives us that extra option as we enter the biggest games of the year.”
