William Penn Avenges Lone Loss, Reaches Heart Finals
Oskaloosa–No insane comeback was needed Friday night as the Statesmen men’s basketball team avenged its only loss of the season and advanced in the league tournament, defeating Central Methodist 92-81 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference Semifinals.
#1 WPU (29-1), which had lost 79-73 to the Eagles (22-10) on the road back on December 8, will compete for yet another league tournament crown next Monday. The Statesmen will be making their sixth trip to the championship game in seven years, taking on South Division champion Evangel at 7 p.m. in Penn Gymnasium. In fact, it is actually the 14th time in Head Coach John Henry’s 21-year career that WPU will participate in the title bout.
In line with the theme of the year, William Penn scored a last-second shot to win 85-84 against the Valor (22-8) on January 29 in Missouri.
The Eagles, who will now wait to see if they earn an at-large bid to nationals, were on fire early and ready to match the navy and gold’s intensity, leading for nearly all of the first eight minutes of the matchup.
Down by as many as seven at 17-10, the home squad took the lead at 19-17 less than 90 seconds later as Josh Watkins (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Sports Management) splashed home a three-pointer. CMU answered to earn its final advantage at 22-21, but another nine unanswered points put the Statesmen on top for good. Q Cager (Sr., Hopkinsville, Ky., Wellness and Recreation) had a trio of layups during that stretch as part of a team-best 20 points.
Leading 48-39 at the halfway point, the hosts sought after the jugular right away in the second half, posting a 17-4 run to go up by a game-high 22 points just 5:08 into the period. Cager recorded a pair of dunks that further energized the large Statesmen crowd.
Just as they had done two nights earlier to MidAmerica Nazarene, the Statesmen were then on the receiving end of a comeback as the Eagles drew with 10 only four minutes later.
Watkins slowed the momentum with another trifecta, but overall William Penn was poor from the perimeter at just 23.8%. The senior added one more long ball to finish with nine points, extending WPU’s margin to 17 at 76-59.
Central Methodist had one final fight, however, closing to within nine at 80-71 with 4:39 to go, but Kevion Blaylock (Sr., Houston, Texas, Information Systems) knocked down two free throws and put home a dunk, while Cager made two charity-stripe tries as well and the hosts cruised from there.
Just 7-for-15 at the line in the first half, the Statesmen improved to 12-for-15 after intermission to finish at a somewhat respectable 63.3%.
Cager had himself a night, going 7-for-8 from the field, while his team outshot CMU 50.0%-46.9%.
Blaylock and Karmari Newman (Sr., Detroit, Mich., Digital Communication) were next with 16 points each; Blaylock managed a double-double with 11 rebounds as well. His contributions on the glass led to a 45-31 rebounding advantage for the victors.
Chanze Cruesoe (So., St. Louis, Mo., Business Management) not only missed out on a double-double, but also was within striking distance of a triple-double with 11 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds. The sophomore also stole three passes, and incredibly did not commit a turnover Friday. William Penn made 13 ball control mistakes, while the Eagles lost possession 19 times.
All five of WPU’s starters were in double figures as Frederick Jackson (Sr., Killeen, Texas, Interdisciplinary Studies) scored 10 points as well.
“Our shooting from both the perimeter and the line were poor, but we made up for it with our all-around effort,” Henry said.
