William Penn Reaches Quarters with 86-68 Triumph Over Columbia
Steven Roundtree finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds in the win over Columbia.
Kansas City, Mo.–The top rebounding team in the nation used a dominating glass effort to take another step closer to its ultimate goal as the Statesmen men’s basketball team defeated #2 seed Columbia (Mo.) 86-68 in the second round of the Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I National Championships Friday.
#3 seed William Penn (29-6) now advances to face the tourney’s top overall seed Georgetown (Ky.) Saturday at 2 p.m. The Tigers slipped past #4 seed Arizona Christian 82-80 in the contest prior to WPU’s victory.
Besides a short span in which the Cougars (29-6) dominated, the afternoon belonged to the navy and gold as they extend their first-ever trip at the Division I Championships. Including its record in the Division II event, William Penn is now 8-5 in NAIA national tournaments (8-2 in its last three trips).
The Statesmen exploded out of the gate, leading 16-5 just 5:59 into the matchup. William Penn did not let off the gas, pulling out to a 15-point edge before settling on a 40-27 halftime advantage. Similar to his effort in Wednesday’s first round, Brady Burford (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Physical Education) dominated the early minutes en route to 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting at the break.
At halftime, the Statesmen, who lead the nation in total rebounds and rebound margin, were already controlling the boards with a 28-14 mark, including a 10-0 edge in second-chance points. That effort would not be slowed, but the team would have a fight on its hands.
Say that WPU rested on its laurels or that Columbia figured things out at halftime, but whatever the case, the Cougars were unstoppable in the first four and a half minutes of the second stanza. They outscored the Statesmen 17-2 over that stretch to suddenly go on top 44-42.
In shock, William Penn turned to a known scoring commodity (in fact, its top single-game scorer of all-time) in Shane Bosek (Sr., Lowry, Minn., Physical Education). The senior, who had just one previous shot in the game, proceeded to knock down a three-pointer on the Statesmen’s next possession to give his squad the lead back for good; he was not done there.
Bosek then connected on a three-point play for six quick points. The sharp-shooter, who finished with 11 points, would be called upon two more times and added five more points to get the navy and gold rolling again, up seven at 57-50 with 11:08 on the clock.
With the Statesmen definitely not out of the woods ahead 62-55 with 8:05 remaining, Jessie Pernell (Sr., North Augusta, S.C., Physical Education) took the wheel and put in back-to-back buckets. The senior tallied 10 points Friday.
Down the stretch, Steven Roundtree (Sr., Jacksonville, Fla., Physical Education) finally made his presence felt, scoring 11 of his 13 points in the second period. The senior had a double-double by also pulling down a game-high 12 rebounds.
Once Roundtree put two free throws through the net at the 6:02 mark, William Penn’s advantage never fell below double figures the rest of regulation.
When the dust settled, WPU outshot Columbia 46.9%-32.3%, but more impressively owned a 54-33 rebounding mark. The program produced a 15-9 margin on the offensive end that translated to an obscene 21-3 edge in second-chance points.
Both sides turned the ball over 11 times, but the Statesmen were much better at taking advantage with a 17-6 margin in points off mistakes.
Buford led his team with a double-double of his own, tallying 19 points (9-for-12 FG) and 10 rebounds, while Kevin Smith (Jr., Baltimore, Md., Physical Education) also joined the double-digit club with 12 points and four assists.
Josh Caldwell (Sr., Denver, Colo., Physical Education) came up huge off the bench with eight points, while Jarvis Haywood (Jr., Charlotte, N.C., Business Management) fought through foul trouble (as did several of his teammates) to contribute seven points.
Nick Jeffries (So., Altoona, Iowa, Exercise Science) showed up on the defensive side with a pair of blocks.
The Statesmen overcame a rough outing at the charity stripe as they finished just 23-for-39 (59.0%), while the Cougars stayed relevant with a 20-for-28 performance. Also notable is the fact that William Penn accomplished all it did despite making a season-low three three-pointers.
“Our bench again was awesome today,” Head Coach John Henry said. “We had guys stepping up on both ends and I am so happy for them because they have waited all year for this opportunity.”
“When you defeat Columbia, you have defeated a really good team,” Henry added. “I respect their coach and their program very much. This is an incredible win for our program and our University.”
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