Newman has Big First Half, Statesmen Win at Home
Oskaloosa–Back at home for the first time in the new calendar year, the William Penn men’s basketball team welcomed the Yellowjackets of Graceland to Penn Gymnasium. The outcome was never in doubt as WPU stormed out to an early lead. With seven three-pointers from Karmari Newman (Sr., Detroit, Mich., Digital Communication) and six others in double figures, the team delivered a 121-101 victory over GU. The win puts William Penn at 13-1 overall and 11-1 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play.
Newman did most of his damage in the first half, including the first shot of the game, as he fired away from six feet beyond the arc and hitting nothing but net. Q Cager (Sr., Hopkinsville, Ky., Wellness & Recreation) made a steal and scored right after to make it 5-0 within the first 60 seconds.
Graceland rattled off five in a row to tie things, but the navy and gold made a move of their own after that. With 18:10 left, Newman connected on another deep shot from the same spot to make the lead 8-5. Almost 90 seconds later, he pounded down another, thowing in one more 32 seconds later to make the score 13-5. Graceland found ways to keep the margin below double digits, but could not bring the game within one basket.
With 14:24 to go, Josh Watkins (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Sports Management) nailed his first triple of the night to get the lead to 11 points. Eddie Daley (Sr., DeWitt, Mich., Business Management) followed his teammate’s example on the next possession as his trifecta put the score at 29-10 with 13:07 to go, capping a 13-0 run for the Statesmen.
Graceland then stepped up, cutting the lead to 13 with 3:45 to go, as it continued to push with the end of the half in sight. Cager made a great drive to extend the lead back to 20 for William Penn, but the Yellowjackets finished the half on an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 61-47 at intermission.
WPU shot 54.8% from the floor, going 6-10 from deep, while collecting 25 rebounds. GU shot 47.4%, went 4-7 from downtown, and had 17 boards. Newman led all players with 20 points, while Kevion Blaylock (Sr., Houston, Texas, Information Technology) had six rebounds to pace the field.
The second half started with Blaylock laying one in for the navy and gold, but GU knocked the lead back to 13 over the next few minutes. Just as the visitors seemed to find their momentum, the Statesmen discovered their stroke again. They went on a 7-0 run to put the lead above 20 points and it would not dip under that mark the rest of the game.
Ahmad Pender (Sr., Chicago, Ill, Wellness & Recreation) got his second start of the year and delivered most of his nine points in the second frame. Both Daley (11 points) and Nathan Gehring (Sr., Waukee, Iowa) (13 points) reached double digits, while Brandon Faison (Sr., Charlotte, N.C., Sports Management) put up 10 during the second half.
Chanze Cruesoe (So., St. Louis, Mo., Business Management) impressed as he set a new career high with 12 points, making some dazzling drives to the basket that flummoxed the GU defenders. Blaylock posted a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Daley also nabbed one as well by corraling 10 boards. Newman led all players with 23 points at the final horn. Watkins finished with eight, while Quinshaun Freeman (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Software Engineering) got a basket on a good fade-away in the final minutes to round out the scorers for WPU.
At the final buzzer, WPU shot 55.9% from the floor, 37.9% from deep (11-29), and 72.7% from the free-throw line (16-for-22). The Statesmen narrowly won the rebound battle 45-40 with each team collecting nine offensive rebounds. William Penn also tallied 11 steals and forced 18 turnovers for the game, getting seven blocks during the contest to boot (three from Gehring).
“It was so nice to play at home,” Head Coach John Henry said. “We were exceptional offensively, but definitely not on the defensive end. However, we will always take a 20-point win in league play.”
Next Up: The Pioneers of MidAmerica Nazarene will come to town this Saturday at 4 p.m.
