Statesmen Cagers Hold Off Morningside 93-83 in Opener
William Penn senior Keith Steffeck at a scrimmage against Simpson College. (file photo)
Sioux City–Five players reached double figures as #19 William Penn defeated Great Plains Athletic Conference foe Morningside 93-83 in its season opener Friday.
The Statesmen (1-0) won their season opener for the fourth time in the last five years by outshooting the Mustangs (0-1) 45.5%-43.0% and also posting a 54-38 edge in rebounds. The Mustangs are receiving votes in the NAIA Division II preseason poll.
The visitors hit 51.5% of their attempts in the first 20 minutes to pull out to a 47-40 edge at halftime. William Penn was up by as much as 13 points with just over four minutes left until the break as Taylor Stoutner (Sr., Keota, Iowa, Physical Education) made three three-pointers for a team-best ten points.
The Statesmen expanded their advantage to 12 twice before Morningside battled back and eventually took its first lead at 59-58 with 12:05 remaining in regulation.
William Penn exchanged buckets for the next few minutes prior to finally taking the edge for good on a layup by Brandon Beasley (Sr., Indianapolis, Ind., Physical Education) to make it 67-65. The Mustangs narrowed the score to one at 70-69, but seven unanswered by the navy and gold closed the door on the hosts.
Stoutner added two more long balls in the second stanza for a team-high 19 points, while Beasley posted a double-double with 17 points and ten rebounds (game high). Keith Steffeck (Sr., Marion, Iowa, Physical Education) finished with 14 points, and James Devlin (Sr., Tampa, Fla., Sociology) added 13 points, including going 11-of-14 at the free-throw line. The game was won at the line with Statesmen holding a 21-point advantage in points from the charity stripe, going 27-of-39 while their opponents were just 6-of-12.
Devlin paced his squad with five assists and three steals. Steffeck blocked three shots in the win.
Ten points were recorded by Arman Rasul (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Sociology) and Blake Walker (Jr., Rose Garden, Ga., Physical Education) contributed eight points. Kevin Fay (Jr., Hennepin, Ill., Education) also produced seven points.
William Penn survived despite committing 17 turnovers (13 for Morningside).
“This was not a fantastic game for us, but anytime you beat a program like Morningside on the road in your first game, it is a good thing,” Head Coach John Henry said. “We had all the momentum early in the second half, but it slowly shifted back to them when they took their first lead at the midway point.”
“I thought that was the most important point of the game for us,” Henry added. “Taylor and Kevin stepped up to keep us in it until everyone started to click offensively again. Taylor was great behind the arc, while Kevin was impressive across the board.”
Next: William Penn remains in Sioux City Saturday, facing fellow GPAC member Briar Cliff at 3 p.m. Briar Cliff claimed a 79-52 win over Grand View Friday.
