Statesmen Defeat Central to Open the Season 1-0
Oskaloosa– The William Penn men’s basketball team opened the 2026–27 season with a narrow victory, defeating Central 83-77 in non-conference action Wednesday night.
The Statesmen (1-0) battled back-and-forth all night with the Dutch (0-1). William Penn started the game off hot offensively, jumping out to a 9-2 lead just 3:34 into action. The teams traded buckets until a three-pointer from Brayden Long (Jr., Bradley, Ill.) ignited a 9-2 Statesmen run, giving them a 28-17 lead. Central rallied late in the first half, though, cutting the Statesmen lead down to just six at 41-35.
WPU was cold from beyond the arc in the first half, making just four of its 16 three-point attempts and going 16-for-38 overall before the break.
The two teams traded scores right after the half, but the Dutch built a four-point advantage with 14:40 remaining. Fortunately, the Statesmen battled back and took a two-point lead with 11:54 remaining and never lost it again as they were in route to an 83-77 win.
The Statesmen offense was a two-man show of Donovan Rodriguez (Sr., Philadelphia, Pa., Sports Management) and Alif Bass (Sr., Newark, N.J., Sports Management), who had 25 and 22 points respectively, while Jake Ingle (Sr., Newton, Iowa, Sports Management) and Maki Pettigrew (Jr., Philadelphia, Pa., Business Management) both added ten.
The defense was anchored by Joe Poyser (Jr., Wildwood, Fla., Elementary Education) as he finished with 10 rebounds, while Dijarn Russell-Waters (Sr., Nottingham, England, Psychology) added nine of his own. Bass led the way in assists with five, and Pettigrew was just behind him with four.
After struggling in the first half, the Statesmen were able to rebound and finish shooting 44.1% from the field and 31% from three. Central shot 40% overall and just 28.9% from long range. Both teams found limited success at the free-throw line, with William Penn converting 66.7% to Central’s 60%.
The Statesmen depth and speed proved to be the deciding factor as the WPU bench outscored Centrals 19-11, while also holding a 30-11 advantage in fastbreak points. The navy and gold were barely out rebounded by the Dutch, 47-44. Despite this, they were able to turn 15 offensive rebounds into 12 second-chance points.
“We didn’t play very well tonight, and Central had a lot to do either that,” Head Coach John Henry said. “They are an exceptional team. It was a very fun atmosphere tonight.”
“I thought Jake Ingles’ energy tonight in limited minutes was awesome,” Henry added. “He sparked us and kind of woke everyone up.”
