KC Bound! Blaylock and Cager Top the Charts as Statesmen Beat MACU
William Penn University Men’s Basketball team defeated Mid-America Christian University in the opening round of the NAIA Tournament in Park City, Kansas on Saturday, March 13, 2021.
Park City, Kan. — The first-ever matchup between Mid-America Christian University and William Penn pitted two top-end teams against each other for the right to travel to Kansas City for the NAIA National Tournament final site. The Evangels, hot on the heels of a 69-63 victory over Holy Cross (Ind.) Friday night, tested the Statesmen all game long. Despite MACU leading early in the first half, William Penn deleted the gap and slowly pulled away the rest of the game behind dominant games from Kevion Blaylock (Sr., Houston, Texas, Information Technology) and Q Cager (Sr., Hopkinsville, Ky., Wellness & Recreation). With a double-double from Blaylock and 16 points from Cager, the Statesmen cleared the Evangels 85-75 and go to 25-1 on the season. The team will now wait for the other games to be completed before the NAIA will set the bracket for the final 16 teams in Kansas City.
Cager got the scoring started by leaping up and securing a defensive rebound, gliding coast-to-coast for a lay-in. The next few minutes were marred by fouls, as MACU inched out to a four-point lead.
Josh Watkins (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Sports Management) then put down his first three to pull the navy and gold to within one. After some misses and fouls by both teams, Nathan Gehring (Sr., Waukee, Iowa) put the Statesmen ahead 7-6 on a make from the paint, putting the squad ahead by two on the and-one opportunity. With 10:57 to go in the first half, Brandon Faison (Sr., Charlotte, N.C., Sports Management) drove and scored to put WPU up 12-11 but MACU would keep the tempo down and pull even at 14-14.
Mid-America Christian then put the pedal down on a 6-2 run that got them ahead 23-17. However, WPU put up six-straight in response, with Gehring, Blaylock, and Karmari Newman (Sr., Detroit, Mich., Digital Communication) scoring over the run. Tied at 29 all, Watkins sunk a short floater to put the Statesmen up 31-29 with 2:33 to go. Ahmad Pender (Sr., Chicago, Ill, Wellness & Recreation) and Blaylock helped to increase the lead to 34-30 with 41 seconds to go and that score would stand at the intermission.
Halftime was welcome, as the slow, grinding style of the game had taken a toll on both sides. William Penn was 12-31 from the floor in the first 30 minutes, good for 38%. They made only two of their 13 deep shots and eight of their 21 free throws.
MACU made the first points of the second half to close to within two, but Cager once more coasted through traffic to score to put William Penn up 36-32. He would make the and-one opportunity to put the team ahead by five and Newman would make a three to make it a six-point edge at 40-34.
Eddie Daley (Sr., DeWitt, Mich., Business Management) then put down four unanswered to push the lead to 45-34 but the Evangels kept fighting. Brining the lead down to under double figures, MACU came within seven at 46-39 with 14:59 to go in the game. But the navy and gold had another response ready.
Gehring put in a field goal and Chanze Cruesoe (So., St. Louis, Mo., Business Management) finished off a strong drive to the rim to put the lead back to 11. That would be the pattern for the rest of the game, with MACU going on a short run, making it feel like they were bound to tie the game up. However, with every short punch, the Statesmen counter-punched to keep the lead at or around 10 points.
The final push came with 4:11 to go. After Blaylock sunk eight-footer, the Evangels put up a 7-0 run to close the gap to 72-68. Blaylock sunk two free throws and Cager made two-straight scoring drives to get the lead back to 10. With Mid-America Christian playinng the foul game, Cruesoe made four shots in a row from the charity stripe, with Blaylock adding in two more, to keep WPU ahead. With Ty Majlik-Autry (Jr., St. Petersburg, Fla.) playing some strong defense after Daley fouled out and the Statesmen making their free throws, William Penn pushed through to win 85-75.
The team shot 33.9% for the game and 20% from downtown. The lineup went 28-for-41 from the stripe (68.3%) and won the rebound battle 52-36. The team recorded 33 points from the bench and scored 36 points in the paint, holding MACU to 22.
Blaylock had a great game, with 17 points, 13 rebounds, and four assists. Cager put up 16 points, while Watkins was third on the team with nine. Newman, Gehring, and Cruesoe each had eight. Pender was second on the team with 10 rebounds, topping the team with six offensive boards.
“Very rough, wild, and intense game,” said Head Coach John Henry. “Proud to win and advance to the Sweet 16.”
Next Up: The NAIA will fill out the bracket for Kansas City after the conclusion of the Opening Round games on Saturday. The Round of 16 will start for the Statesmen on either Thursday, March 18, or Friday, March 19.
