Washington Records Triple-Double as WPU Holds Off Pesky Lions
William Penn’s Dominique Shaw elevates against Lincoln Christian on Friday night.
by Wade Steinlage
Oskaloosa–The Statesmen men’s basketball team did not play its best, but still managed to stay perfect as it dropped Lincoln Christian 115-97 in non-conference action Friday.
#3 William Penn (7-0) shot 51.9% from the floor, but permitted the Lions (1-6) to shoot 46.5% as it gave up a season high in points.
The hosts were not expecting the battle that the visitors brought, highlighted by trailing 35-33 with less than seven minutes to go in the first half. WPU went back ahead for good, but led just 49-46 with 2:08 left until halftime. The Statesmen closed out the period with six straight points to lead 55-46 at intermission.
The Lions cut the margin to four early in the second stanza, but they would get no closer. It was certainly not smooth sailing down the stretch, though, but WPU was able to stay up by double figures for the last 17-plus minutes of action.
William Penn and Lincoln Christian both knocked down 13 three-pointers Friday, but the Statesmen had a harder time getting to their baker’s dozen as they were outshot 50.0%-35.1% behind the arc. Dominique Shaw (Sr., Lufkin, Texas, Wellness and Recreation) hit six trifectas en route to a game-high 27 points; the senior was 9-for-14 overall and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds.
WPU was able to overcome 15 turnovers (11 for LCU) by actually outscoring the Lions 17-10 in points off mistakes. Conversely, the Statesmen dominated the glass 56-31 (22-6 offensive), but were surprisingly outscored 10-9 in second-chance points.
Terrell Thompson (Sr., Indianapolis, Ind., Wellness and Recreation) joined Shaw in eclipsing the 20-point mark with 23 on 9-for-13 shooting.
JC Washington (Sr., Houston, Texas, Sociology) had by far the best overall evening, though, with a triple-double of 16 points (6-for-10 FG), 14 rebounds, and 13 assists. The senior matched Thompson’s 13 assists from Tuesday as a season high; the mark ties for the fifth-most in school history.
Washington’s triple-double is the first for WPU since Oliver Wells accomplished the feat on November 24, 2014.
Mikeal Donaldson (Sr., Columbia, S.C.), with 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Brandon Trotter (Sr., Louisville, Ky., Kinesiology), with 11 points and 10 rebounds, managed double-doubles in the victories. Trotter paced WPU with three steals as well
Jovontae Carleton (Jr., El Cerrito, Calif., Sociology) also reached double digits with 12 points, while Tyler Wood (So., Newton, Iowa, Education) hit a pair of three-pointers to finish with six points.
The Statesmen also made up for a 61.1% clip at the charity stripe, while the Lions finished at 78.3%.
Next Up: William Penn remains in Oskaloosa Saturday to face Wright State Lake in non-conference action at 2 p.m.
