William Penn Rallies Past Ravens 82-77
William Penn University Athletics
Oskaloosa–When you are a top-10 program, the bullseye is squarely on your back each and every night. Fortunately, the Statesmen men’s basketball team was able to weather the storm and put enough pieces together to rally past Benedictine (Kan.) 82-77 in Heart of America Athletic Conference action Saturday.
#10 William Penn (22-6, 15-5 Heart) was outshot 55.1%-44.6% and allowed the Ravens (14-12, 8-12 Heart) to make 12 three-pointers, but some gritty play–especially on the defensive end–thwarted the upset and finished off the season sweep.
Little went the way of the navy and gold in the first 20 minutes as they trailed 41-33. At that juncture, they were shooting just 34.4% from the floor and even worse from deep (23.1%).
WPU’s struggles continued in the early minutes of the second period as BC increased its lead to 13 twice, the last coming at 56-43 with 13:05 to go. With its collective shooting touch absent, the home team began to pound the ball inside and the visitors’ foul tally increased exponentially. The Statesmen were not able to take advantage right away (WPU was just 19-for-30 at the line), but that opened things up and they slowly chipped away at the deficit.
Still down 58-49 with 9:40 on the clock, Steven Roundtree (Sr., Jacksonville, Fla., Physical Education) was whistled for a technical foul. The partisan Statesmen crowd did not agree with the officiating crew and the energy inside Penn Gymnasium turned the home team’s intensity level up several notches, leading to an 8-0 run over the next 2:44.
Benedictine hit a pair of trifectas in the next minute to keep WPU at bay momentarily, but the Statesmen kept coming and eventually took the lead for good at 72-70 on a three-point play by Brady Burford (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Physical Education) with 1:59 on the clock. The senior finished with a game-high 24 points in addition to two steals.
The Statesmen quadrupled the advantage to eight, but the Ravens did not go away quietly, drawing to within four in the final seconds. In the end, the hosts’ 54.5% shooting and 40-27 edge on the glass (18-4 offensive, 11-2 in second-chance points) stood as the deciding factors. WPU also committed five fewer turnovers (9-14), leading to an 11-8 edge in points off turnovers.
Jarvis Haywood (Jr., Charlotte, N.C., Business Management) concluded the victory with 19 points, while Roundtree nailed down another double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Jessie Pernell (Sr., North Augusta, S.C., Physical Education) joined the double-digit club with 12 points (two steals as well).
Dondre Alexander (Jr., Iowa City, Iowa, Physical Education) contributed six points Saturday, and Kevin Smith (Jr., Baltimore, Md., Physical Education) distributed six assists.
“Kevin Smith did a great job facilitating our offense in the second half; he really gave us the lift that we needed,” Head Coach John Henry said. “Brady Burford and Steven Roundtree took over the game late with all-out desire and heart. We have struggled with our shooting lately, so winning while grinding today is huge.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Fayette, Mo. next Wednesday to face Central Methodist in Heart play at 7:30 p.m.
