Statesmen Stumble in Second Half in Avila Loss
William Penn University Athletics
Kansas City, Mo.–The William Penn men’s basketball team could not curb the energy of its foe on an historic night for Avila as the team was upset 89-74 in Heart of America Athletic Conference action Saturday.
The sixth-ranked Statesmen (17-3, 10-2 Heart) were outshot 50.0%-26.7% in the second half as the Eagles (14-6, 7-5 Heart) claimed their first 2,000-point scorer in program history (Sedrick Johnson). Johnson had a monster performance with 36 points, while Jordan Epps was right behind him with 33. AU relied almost entirely on the duo as the rest of the team combined for just 20 points on only 19 total shot attempts.
William Penn, which now leads Peru State by just one game in the Heart standings, played even in the first stanza at 41-41, despite permitting Avila to hold a 53.6%-48.4% shooting edge (51.9%-37.7% overall). WPU weathered an early storm and then took control to go up 35-28. AU rallied right back, though, to knot the game at the break.
The Eagles carried their strong play into the second half with 13 of the first 16 points. The Statesmen, who were seeking the season sweep after a 108-72 win in Oskaloosa in November, clawed to within one at 61-60 with 9:05 to go, but the rest of the night went to the home squad.
The navy and gold were able to stay close via a 35-31 rebounding advantage that led to a 15-7 margin in second-chance points. The Statesmen also committed one fewer turnover (17-18), but were actually out-tallied in points off mistakes 21-17. The hot shooting of the Eagles was too much to overcome in the end as the hosts hit 54.5% from deep and 87.5% at the line (WPU was 32.0% and 64.5%, respectively).
Jessie Pernell (Sr., North Augusta, S.C., Physical Education) was the only William Penn player to make more than half of his shots, going 6-for-9 from the field (all three-pointers) as part of a 21-point showing. The senior also had five assists and two steals.
Steven Roundtree (Sr., Jacksonville, Fla., Physical Education) matched him with 21 points in addition to six rebounds and two thefts. Brady Burford (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Physical Education) was in double figures as well with 10 points.
Dondre Alexander (Jr., Iowa City, Iowa, Physical Education) was limited to seven points, while Jarvis Haywood (Jr., Charlotte, N.C., Business Management) was cooled off to a six-point effort.
“We had a bad night tonight in all aspects of the game,” Head Coach John Henry said. “Credit also to Avila, though, as they were really fired up to get us. We need to realize that playing these new conference opponents the second time around, they will come at us hard based on our record and ranking and we have to be prepared.”
Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa Wednesday to host Missouri Valley in Heart play at 7:30 p.m. The game will serve as both Coaches vs. Cancer (Suits and Sneakers) and Upward Youth Basketball Night.
