Late Flurry by Missouri Valley Too Much for Statesmen to Overcome
Oskaloosa–The William Penn men’s basketball team performed well enough for most of the game to come away victorious, but a small spurt of bad play doomed the Statesmen in an 83-79 Heart of America Athletic Conference loss to Missouri Valley Saturday.
WPU (5-18, 4-15 Heart) outshot the Vikings 50.8%-39.7% and dominated the glass to the tune of a 51-32 edge, but 23 turnovers (just four for MVC) was the home team’s undoing in the setback. The errors led to the navy and gold being outscored 24-8 in points off turnovers.
Saturday’s bout featured 11 ties and six lead changes, including a few of both in the first half. William Penn was on top for a good deal of the opening stanza, but gave up the advantage for a spell. Fortunately, 16 first-half points by Ontario Chapman (Sr., Evanston, Ill., Psychology) made up the difference and the home crew headed for the locker room with a 42-40 halftime lead.
WPU kept the MVC in the rearview for the first half of the latter period as well, but up 59-57 with 8:31 remaining, nearly everything that could have gone wrong did. The Vikings scored six in a row as part of a 17-2 run that put them up 74-61 and took just 2:30 in game time.
The Statesmen kept on with the good fight and pulled within six on a few occasions, but could draw no closer in the waning minutes.
In addition to the turnovers, William Penn also permitted 10 Missouri Valley three-pointers, compared to only four by the hosts. Despite its massive rebounding margin, WPU only outscored the Vikings 13-11 in second-chance points.
Chapman had a career performance with a double-double, scoring 22 points (8-for-9 FG) and corralling 14 rebounds.
Jayvin Brown (So., Waldorf, Md., Wellness and Recreation) again flirted with a triple-double, posting 18 points, seven rebounds, and six assists, while Manny Hammonds (Fr., Des Moines, Iowa, New Media) also reached double digits with 13 points.
Jaz Farrell (Sr., Miramar, Fla., Interdisciplinary Studies), with nine points, fell one shy of his own double-double as he recorded 10 boards. Jason Priah (Jr., Shaker Heights, Ohio, Information Technology), with six points, and Justin Bradley (Jr., Okinawa, Japan, Biology), with five, were contributors Saturday as well.
The sides were nearly identical at the free-throw line; WPU was 11-for-17, while MVC was 11-for-18.
Next Up: William Penn travels to Fayette, Mo. next Wednesday to take on Central Methodist in Heart action at 7:30 p.m.
