Hot William Penn Overcomes Turnovers to Beat MVC
Steven Roundtree (Sr., Jacksonville, Fla., Physical Education) dominated throughout to post a double-double of 26 points and 11 rebounds.
Oskaloosa–The Statesmen men’s basketball team was sloppy with the ball, but played so well in other areas to get past Missouri Valley 102-92 in Heart of America Athletic Conference action Wednesday.
#6 William Penn (18-3, 11-2 Heart) overcame 23 turnovers to take a wire-to-wire win on Coaches vs. Cancer Night. The Statesmen outshot the Vikings (10-11, 5-8 Heart) 56.7%-42.9% and outrebounded them 41-25. To top things off, they did it without having leading scorer Dondre Alexander (Jr., Iowa City, Iowa, Physical Education) on the court. The junior tried to play through an injury, but only lasted just over a minute, hitting his lone shot–a three-pointer.
The win sets up a key top-25 matchup Saturday against #21 Peru State (Neb.) in Peru, Neb. at 4 p.m. The Statesmen own a one-game lead on the Bobcats at the top of the Heart standings.
The hosts stormed out to an 8-0 lead just 1:05 into the night, but Missouri Valley was pesky and stuck around. The Vikings got to within four on a few occasions, but WPU eventually led 51-41 at the break.
MVC tried to make things interesting early in the second half and then again in the waning minutes. Fortunately, the Statesmen warmed up to 57.1% in the latter period (all of their shots came from inside the arc) to hold off their foes.
Jarvis Haywood (Jr., Charlotte, N.C., Business Management) was unstoppable early, making his first seven field goals. He eventually finished with 24 points on 9-for-13 shooting (4-for-5 3-PT, 2-for-2 FT) and also dished out four assists with three steals.
While Haywood did most of his damage in the opening stanza, Steven Roundtree (Sr., Jacksonville, Fla., Physical Education) dominated throughout to post a double-double of 26 points and 11 rebounds.
Brady Burford (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Physical Education), with 13 points, and Josh Caldwell (Sr., Denver, Colo., Physical Education), with 12, also reached double figures. Jessie Pernell (Sr., North Augusta, S.C., Physical Education) tallied eight points in addition to five assists, while Charles Knowles (Jr., Chicago, Ill., Physical Education) added seven points.
Eight of the 10 Statesmen who attempted a shot Wednesday hit at least 50% from the field. In a tightly-officiated contest that featured 52 fouls, Missouri Valley stayed close by going 31-for-38 at the line. William Penn was also successful at the stripe, though, with a 26-for-31 showing.
“Other than our turnovers, we played a really good game against a good opponent,” Associate Head Coach Blake Sandquist said. “Missouri Valley is one of the biggest teams in the league and we did a really good job against them defensively. We need to carry this momentum into Saturday’s huge matchup with Peru State. A big Thank You to all of our fans who came out and supported us. You guys were awesome!”
