Statesmen Complete Improbable Comeback in Heart Quarterfinals
Oskaloosa–The Heart of America Athletic Conference tournament began with a bang as the William Penn men’s basketball team completed an improbable comeback to defeat the MidAmerica Nazarene Pioneers in overtime, 101-97.
The Statesmen struggled to score points to open the game, but eventually got their footing. WPU trailed by six with just under five minutes to play, but closed the half on a 14-3 run to enter the break with a 43-38 lead.
The navy and gold were outshot by a margin of 53.8%-45%, but were afforded numerous extra opportunities thanks to a +4 turnover differential, an 11-1 advantage on offensive rebounds, and a 24-13 advantage on the boards overall. Both teams struggled from the free throw line, as the Statesmen were 5-11 and the Pioneers just a tad better at 6-11.
The two teams traded points to begin the half, but the Statesmen were able to marginally increase their lead thanks to a pair of baskets from Kevion Blaylock (Sr., Houston, Texas, Information Systems) and a trio of free throws from Karmari Newman (Sr., Detroit, Mich., Digital Communication). After the hosts pushed their lead to six, MNU responded in a big way, going on a 22-4 scoring run across the next six minutes to take the first double-digit advantage of the game.
WPU began to perform better defensively to slow down the scoring, but still struggled mightily on offense and could not chip into the lead as the visitors led by 14 with just under seven minutes to play, 77-63.
Although things looked bleak, back-to-back steals and dunks from Q Cager (Sr., Hopkinsville, Ky., Wellness and Recreation) and Blaylock sparked life in Penn Gymnasium. The Statesmen earned their third straight steal on the ensuing possession, this time from Frederick Jackson (Sr., Killeen, Texas, Interdisciplinary Studies), and Newman kicked the ball out to Josh Watkins (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Sports Management) in the corner, who drilled the three right in front of the Statesmen bench to shrink the deficit to six.
The Pioneers got a big three-point play to quiet the home crowd, but they didn’t stay quiet for long. Cager tore right through the defense for a quick layup, and the Pioneers turned the ball over for the fourth time in five possessions. Newman received the ball from Cager and gave it up to Watkins, who quickly dished it back to Newman, who quickly fired with defenders in his face and got it to go from downtown. Newman’s three-pointer shrunk the lead to four and forced MNU to call a timeout to try and stop the surging Statesmen.
Coming out of the timeout, the hosts earned two more defensive stops. Watkins came down with the rebound on the second one and gave it up to Newman. Newman pump-faked, then drove to the rim before giving the ball up to Jackson. Jackson went up for a shot and was met with hard contact, but got the shot to go off the glass. He made the ensuing free throw, and miraculously, the Statesmen trailed by just one point after a 16-3 run in a matter of just over three minutes.
The Pioneers called another timeout to try to regroup, but turned the ball over almost immediately. Cager ended up with the ball and streaked down the court. He found a trailing Blaylock with a beautiful bounce pass around a defender, and Blaylock flushed it home to give William Penn its first lead in nearly 13 minutes of game time.
Both sides hit one of two free throws, and Blaylock got himself free for another slam to extend the lead to three. After trading baskets again, the Pioneers got a layup to go with only four seconds remaining to tie the game. The Statesmen nearly got a buzzer-beating dunk to go, but the alley-oop from Cager was just a bit high and regulation ended with an 87-87 deadlock.
MNU opened with the first point of overtime as Cager fouled out, but Blaylock and Chanze Cruesoe (So., St. Louis, Mo., Business Management) answered with a basket each to recapture a one-point lead. The game was equalized once again at 93 and again at 95, but Blaylock continued to keep William Penn ahead. He grabbed an offensive rebound and got the putback to go while getting fouled, and hit the ensuing free throw to make it a three point game.
The Pioneers got a big basket with a foul and had a chance to tie, but missed the free throw to tie. Jackson grabbed the rebound and was promptly fouled, but only made one of his two free throws to make it a 99-97 game. MNU called timeout, and got open space for a three. They had a great look at a potential game–winner, but the ball hit off the back iron and Blaylock came down with the rebound. He iced the game with his final two free throws, and the Statesmen survived.
Blaylock scored a game-high 32 points, including 11 of WPU’s 14 points in the overtime period. He just missed a double-double, adding nine boards. Cager was phenomenal on all sides of the ball, going 7-11 from the field for 16 points, also adding 10 assists and seven rebounds. He had a number of big defensive plays down the final minutes of regulation as well, and was credited with three steals.
Newman and Jackson each reach double-digits as well, scoring 18 and 13, respectively, as each hit a number of clutch shots and free throws in crunch time. Ahmad Pender (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Sports Management) played big minutes at the end of the game and also had a number of big defensive plays, blocking two shots and earning three steals.
“The MVP of this game was our crowd,” said Head Coach John Henry. “It was so loud, they willed us to victory.”
What’s Next: The Statesmen advance to the Heart semifinals on Friday, which will take place in Penn Gymnasium against the Central Methodist Eagles. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 PM.
