Statesmen Fall Short of Upset of Ravens
Abrian Edwards had 21 points against #2 Benedictine on Saturday afternoon.
by Wade Steinlage
Oskaloosa–The William Penn men’s basketball team could not come up with the ‘W’, but showed it still has plenty in the tank for a late-season push after falling 82-78 to #2 Benedictine in Heart of America Athletic Conference play Saturday.
#16 WPU (20-8, 14-8 Heart) rallied from down 13 points in the second half to eventually take the lead late, but BC (26-2, 22-0 Heart) held on late to pick up its 25th-consecutive victory and remain perfect in the league.
Down 39-32 at intermission, the navy and gold deficit grew to 13 at 52-39 before the hosts started to chip away. Abrian Edwards (Sr., Austin, Texas, Kinesiology) was held scoreless in the opening period, but took over in the latter minutes, giving the Statesmen a 65-64 edge with 6:49 on one of his five three-pointers. WPU outshot BC 38.7%-34.2% from behind the arc, including going 9-for-20 in the second half.
The senior, who was 6-for-11 (5-for-7 3-PT, 4-for-4 FT) scored a team-high 21 points. The Ravens answered back, but Edwards gave William Penn one final one-point advantage at 70-69.
Unfortunately, the hosts, who were outshot 46.8%-43.5%, gave up six straight and could not get back on top down the stretch. Darius Wheeler (Sr., Jonesboro, Ga., Sports Administration) did cut the deficit to one on a trifecta with 42 ticks left. The waning seconds did not go as planned and the upset bid fell four points short.
The home squad made up for its lack of shooting success by holding a 44-31 rebounding advantage (14-6 offensive) which led to a 14-3 mark in second-chance points.
WPU was only able to force four Raven turnovers (12 for the hosts), but it only damaged the navy and gold to the tune of a 7-5 deficit.
Mario Manuel (So., Des Moines, Iowa, Sports Management) headlined the bench personnel with 14 points. He had a tough outing at the free-throw line at 4-for-11, but the rest of the team was perfect as William Penn finished 12-for-19 overall.
Shamar Bailey-DeCoteau (Jr., Toronto, Ontario, Undecided) tallied 11 of his 13 points in the first half, while Marlon Alcindor (Sr., Queens, N.Y., Sociology) did the opposite with 11 of his 13 coming after the break.
Omar Sherman (Sr., Duncanville, Texas) tacked on six points, while Wheeler contributed five.
Bailey-DeCoteau pulled down eight rebounds and Edwards dished out eight assists.
“We played well against a great team; I am proud of our squad,” Head Coach John Henry said. “With that said, it hurts badly to lose. If we use today’s effort as a blueprint for the rest of the season, I feel good things will happen.”
Next Up: William Penn remains in Oskaloosa next Wednesday, hosting Missouri Valley in Heart action at 5:30 p.m.
