Statesmen Rally to Begin Post-Holiday Slate
William Penn University Athletics
Orange City–Behind a double-double from both Arman Rasul (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Sociology) and Brandon Beasley (Sr., Indianapolis, Ind., Physical Education), the #7 William Penn men’s basketball team opened its post-holiday schedule with an impressive comeback to drop Hastings (Neb.) 92-87 at the Northwestern Pizza Ranch Classic Friday.
The Statesmen (15-1) trailed by eight at 84-76 with 3:49 left, but recorded 16 of the final 19 points for the win. The rally prevented the program from losing back-to-back games after starting the season 14-0.
Despite having not played in exactly three weeks, the navy and gold showed little rust early in pulling out to a 35-28 lead. Unfortunately, the Broncos (12-4), who are unofficially 30th in the NAIA, heated up and outshot William Penn 63.6%-44.7% to claim a 51-44 halftime edge.
The margin ballooned to as much as 11 early in the second stanza, but William Penn was never out of contention. Down eight inside of four minutes, James Devlin (Sr., Tampa, Fla., Sociology) knocked down consecutive three pointers and Blake Walker (Jr., Rose Garden, Ga., Physical Education) added another bucket to knot the score at 84-84 with 1:46 remaining.
The squads exchanged a few points before Taylor Stoutner (Sr., Keota, Iowa, Physical Education) hit one of his four trifectas to give his team the lead for good at 89-87 with 51 ticks left. The lead changed hands 20 times Friday.
Walker, with two free throws, and Stoutner, with one more, iced the contest at the charity stripe. On the other end, the defense did not permit Hastings to get a shot off in its final three possessions. William Penn forced 27 total turnovers, good for 34 points.
The Statesmen lost the shooting battle 56.5%-43.6%, but countered with a 44-30 advantage on the glass. An 18-5 offensive rebounding margin accounted for a 17-3 mark in second-chance points.
Rasul was 9-of-11 from the field en route to a game-high 20 points. He also grabbed a contest-best 13 rebounds.
Beasley matched Rasul with a double-double of his own, scoring 18 points with ten rebounds and a game-high five steals.
Walker added 15 points with six assists, while Stoutner managed 13 points. Devlin concluded his evening with nine points.
“We played one of our worst games tonight, but a win is a win, especially considering we have not played for three weeks,” Head Coach John Henry said. “Arman had his best game of his Statesmen career and James and Taylor came up with huge three-pointers late for us.”
“Hastings is a very good team and their zone bothered us,” Henry added. “Once we made some shots, it opened things up and allowed us to play our style. This was a good test right away after break and Northwestern Saturday will be one of the best teams we will face this year.”
Next: The Statesmen concluded the Classic by facing #10 Northwestern Saturday at 6 p.m.
