Shot at Buzzer Misses as Rally Falls Short
William Penn University Athletics
by Wade Steinlage
Oskaloosa–The Statesmen men’s basketball team rallied from down by as many as 23 points, but could not come all the way back in an 85-82 Heart of America Athletic Conference loss to Central Methodist Wednesday.
#16 WPU (20-9, 14-9 Heart), which falls back into a tie for second place in the league with Peru State, trailed by 22 points at 72-50 with 9:24 to go. The hosts did not wave their white flag, however, and actually had a chance at the buzzer, but a three-pointer by Omar Sherman (Sr., Duncanville, Texas) from the top of the key would not drop and the Eagles (16-13, 11-12 Heart) survived.
Just about everything went right for CMU in the first half as it held a 38-15 edge with 6:53 still to go until intermission. The Eagles made eight of their first 10 three-pointers, but William Penn weathered the storm and ended the period strong, managing a 16-4 run to close to 42-31 at halftime.
The opening parts of the second stanza were quite similar to the first half as Central Methodist, which outshot William Penn 52.9%-48.4%, stretched its advantage. Down 22, the home squad tallied nine of the next 10 points and then went on another 14-3 run to get the deficit to four with 1:36 left. Marlon Alcindor (Sr., Queens, N.Y., Sociology) capped the 14-3 run by making all three free throws after being fouled behind the arc.
The sides exchanged buckets over the next minute before Alcindor gave his team a legitimate chance to actually pull off the incredible comeback. Trailing by five, Alcindor was again fouled on a trifecta, and again he connected on all of the tries to make it 84-82 with five seconds left.
The Statesmen immediately fouled on the inbounds play and stayed alive as CMU could not ice the game, only making one of two free throws. On the final play of the game, Sherman ran up to midcourt, received the inbounds pass uncontested, dribbled to a respectable distance, and fired the potential game-tying long ball. Unfortunately, it went offline and the Statesmen were saddled with the loss.
WPU attempted to overcome 14 three-pointers (58.3% clip) by CMU by dominating the glass, 36-25 (15-5 offensive). The advantage led to a 14-7 mark in second-chance points.
The hosts committed 15 turnovers, compared to 12 by the visitors; William Penn was outscored 19-14 in points off mistakes.
Although he did not make the final shot of the game, Sherman still had a strong night with 24 points on 11-for-17 shooting. The senior blocked three shots and dished out four assists as well.
Guided by four three-pointers, Alcindor was next in the scoring column with 18 points. Shamar Bailey-DeCoteau (Jr., Toronto, Ontario, Undecided) had a big outing as well, posting a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. He came up with a team-high three steals as well.
Eddie Daley (So., DeWitt, Mich., Sports Management) topped the bench with eight points, making all three of his shots, including two trifectas. Abrian Edwards (Sr., Austin, Texas, Kinesiology) struggled on the offensive end (six points), but was a competent facilitator with 10 assists.
The Statesmen finished with four fewer points at the line (17-13) than Central Methodist, but shot a higher percentage with a 68.4%-65.4% edge.
Next Up: William Penn closes out its regular season at home Saturday, hosting Heart foe Missouri Valley for Senior Day at 4 p.m.
