William Penn Hot From Field in 105-89 Road Win
William Penn University Athletics
by Wade Steinlage
Springfield, Mo.–The Statesmen men’s basketball team returned to its winning ways Saturday by torching the nylon in a 105-89 Heart of America Athletic Conference win over Evangel.
#3 WPU (12-1, 2-1 Heart) shot 58.1% overall, but was simply ridiculous in the second half by making 69.7% of its attempts (79.3% 2-PT).
It is the ninth time the navy and gold have eclipsed the century mark this season; the squad, which leads the NAIA Division I in scoring, is averaging 108.3 points per game entering the holiday break.
The visitors led 10-4 early and went up by as many as nine points at 22-13 before the Crusaders (3-9, 1-2 Heart) rallied back to take their only advantage at 33-32. William Penn responded immediately and led 47-41 at halftime.
The margin stayed in single digits in the early minutes of the second period, including the Statesmen edge being trimmed to two at 55-53. A 9-2 run pushed the WPU advantage to nine, though, while another eight unanswered points a few minutes later put the visitors ahead by 15 points and they were never threatened again. Overall, the victors limited EU to 44.3% from the field for the afternoon.
The home crew was able to stay close by shooting 46.2% from the arc (WPU was just 25.0%) and finishing 75.0% at the line (WPU was just 65.2%).
Terrell Thompson (Sr., Indianapolis, Ind., Wellness and Recreation), who did not make a long ball, was excellent in all other areas, however, en route to a game-high 27 points (10-for-19 FG). The senior also tallied five assists.
Brandon Trotter (Sr., Louisville, Ky., Kinesiology) was amazing off the bench, knocking down nine of his 11 shots for 20 points. He also topped all Statesmen with nine rebounds and five steals. The navy and gold dominated Evangel 46-32 in rebounding and also committed three fewer turnovers, 11-14.
Dominique Shaw (Sr., Lufkin, Texas, Wellness and Recreation) was next on the scoring list with 17 points, while Mikeal Donaldson (Sr., Columbia, S.C.), with 14, and Corbin Medley (Sr., Rogersville, Mo., General Accounting), with 10, also reached double figures.
Jovontae Carleton (Jr., El Cerrito, Calif., Sociology) contributed eight points as well.
The Statesmen were without the services of JC Washington (Sr., Houston, Texas, Sociology) and Aakim Saintil (Sr., West Orange, N.J., Business Management) who were both suspended for the contest.
“We are very pleased with this win,” Head Coach John Henry said. “We traveled a long way with a depleted squad and pulled together for this one. With finals over and the guys making plans to go home after the game, this was a trap game for us, so it feels great to get the win.”
Next Up: William Penn is off until after the holidays, returning to Oskaloosa on January 3 to host Benedictine in Heart play at 7:30 p.m.
