William Penn Avenges Loss in 97-59 Rout of MNU
Four players reached double figures with Lionel Ellison (Sr., New Orleans, La., Kinesiology) heading the squad with 23 points in addition to four assists and five steals.
Oskaloosa–The Statesmen men’s basketball team had a settle to score and did it emphatically Wednesday with a 97-59 Heart of America Athletic Conference victory over MidAmerica Nazarene.
#2 WPU (21-3, 17-3 Heart), which may be playing its best ball of the season, having won its last three games by an average of 31.3 points, exacted a great deal of revenge for last month’s setback to the Pioneers (12-12, 11-9 Heart).
The hosts opened the night with the first six points and quickly went up by double figures at 16-5 less than five minutes into the contest. MNU tried to threaten, getting within 13 late in the first half, but the victors ended the stanza on a 10-4 run to lead 46-27 at the break.
The script remained unchanged in the second half as the navy and gold got the entire crew into the act to eventually double the advantage.
William Penn only outshot the Pioneers 42.1%-39.3%, but owned the glass at 56-35 (23-7 offensive) and also forced seven more turnovers (17-10). Those numbers resulted in the Statesmen producing a 21-7 mark in points off turnovers and a 15-9 edge in second-chance points.
Six different Statesmen hit from three-point land as WPU finished 12-for-29 behind the arc. Four players reached double figures with Lionel Ellison (Sr., New Orleans, La., Kinesiology) heading the squad with 23 points in addition to four assists and five steals.
“Lionel is a special player,” Head Coach John Henry said. “I think he is the best defensive player in the league and the best defender to have played here in my tenure. He set the tone tonight and his teammates followed his lead.”
Torren Jones (Sr., Chandler, Ariz., Sociology) was just 3-for-11 from the floor, but found other ways to showcase his talent with a double-double of 13 points and 19 rebounds.
Brandon Trotter (Jr., Louisville, Ky., Kinesiology) and Dashawn Benson (Jr., Uniondale, N.Y., Sociology) each posted 11 points to join the double-digit club.
A trio of trifectas helped Corbin Medley (Jr., Rogersville, Mo., General Accounting) to nine bench points, while Rufus Williams (Sr., Tuscaloosa, Ala., Physical Education) contributed seven points, also in a non-starting role.
Kevin Smith (Sr., Baltimore, Md., Physical Education) and Jeremy Postell (Sr., Atlanta, Ga., Sociology) added six points apiece as well.
Next Up: William Penn remains in Oskaloosa Saturday to host Culver-Stockton in Heart play at 4 p.m.
