Medley’s Seven Three-Pointers Lift Statesmen to Road Win
William Penn University Athletics
Peru, Neb.–Still depleted by injuries, the Statesmen men’s basketball team was going to need someone to step to the forefront and Corbin Medley (Jr., Rogersville, Mo., General Accounting) did as William Penn rallied past Peru State 88-81 in Heart of America Athletic Conference action Monday.
Playing its fourth game in seven days, #3 WPU (8-1, 4-1 Heart) once again was without the services of injured starters Jarvis Haywood (Sr., Charlotte, N.C., Business Management) and Kevin Smith (Sr., Baltimore, Md., Physical Education). Although Torren Jones (Sr., Chandler, Ariz., Sociology) was coming off three-straight double-doubles which helped him to Heart POW laurels, another such performance might have still not been enough against the Bobcats.
Medley gladly accepted the challenge to be a complement to Jones. He actually did that and much more, going off for 27 points on 9-for-18 shooting, including a 7-for-13 effort from three-point land. The junior tallied back-to-back-to-back shots from deep early in the game to lift the visitors to their largest lead of 13 points at 28-15.
Unfortunately, the Bobcats (4-4, 3-2 Heart), who shared the Heart crown with William Penn last year, had a big response to lead 43-38 at the halfway point. Peru State pushed the advantage to 11 points in the beginning moments of the second half, but the Statesmen fought back and eventually recaptured the lead at 69-68 with 6:45 to go.
The score seesawed for the next few minutes until William Penn went on top for good at 82-79 on a trifecta from Medley with 1:33 left. Charles Knowles (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Physical Education) added a three-point play on the following possession and the navy and gold closed out the win on a 9-2 run. Knowles finished with 18 points.
WPU outshot PSC 44.9%-40.5% and outrebounded the home squad 40-37, but the Bobcats kept in the matchup by holding a 23-12 edge in points off turnovers and an 11-6 mark in second-chance points. The Statesmen actually were a bit stronger at ball control with 14 turnovers compared to 15 for Peru State.
Both sides tossed up quite a few three-pointers, but were fairly successful in those efforts with PSC taking 31 for a 38.7% clip and WPU trying 28 for a 39.3% effort.
It may seem that Jones did not play a big part in Monday’s triumph, but that would be far from the truth. The senior was 10-for-20 from the floor en route to 22 points; he also guided all players with 12 rebounds for his fourth double-double in a row.
Lionel Ellison (Sr., New Orleans, La., Kinesiology) was also incredible at the point, nearly missing a double-double of his own with 14 points and nine assists. The senior stole five passes and blocked three shots as well.
William Penn overcame shooting just 65.2% at the line (15-for-23).
“I love how this team sticks together and how someone just keeps stepping up,” Head Coach John Henry said. “That is a hard place to win. Our bus is going to float home with this men’s and women’s sweep!”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Kansas City, Mo. Thursday to face Avila in Heart action at 7:30 p.m.
