William Penn Survives Double OT Battle with Peru State
Peru, Neb.—It took a couple of overtimes but William Penn found a way to grit out a victory in its regular season finale.
The Statesmen (27-3, 21-3 Heart) picked up their ninth straight win, defeating the Bobcats (16-14, 15-9 Heart), 93-88, on the backs of a couple of double-doubles and five in double-figures scoring.
WPU got off to a slow start out of the gate as they trailed 12-2 early. They clawed back and tied the game up at 19-19 on a Q Cager (Jr., Hopkinsville, Ky., Wellness and Recreation) layup. Peru State was able to build back up a nine-point lead, 36-27, with 2:12 left in the first half but William Penn countered with a 13-2 run to retake the lead and head into the break with a 40-38 lead.
The second half was a back-and-forth battle that featured eight ties. William Penn looked like they were going to pull away as they had gained a six-point advantage on a Nathan Gehring (Jr., Waukee, Iowa) bucket but they were unable to put the pesky Bobcats away and they eventually hit a game-tying three with a second left to force overtime.
Both teams battled in the first OT with the Statesmen holding a lead throughout the majority before PSC tied the game up at 79-79. The teams each had an opportunity at a game-winning shot but came up empty to force a second overtime.
Peru State scored first in the second overtime, taking an 81-79 lead. Dexter Hood (Sr., Tuscaloosa, Ala.) gave his squad the lead a couple of minutes later, making it 83-81 and from there the visitors never looked back as they were able to build as large as a nine-point lead before walking away with a 93-88 win.
The navy and gold narrowly outshot Peru State 34%-33% and won the rebounding battle 58-54.
Kevion Blaylock (Jr., Houston, Texas, Information Technology) continued his hot streak as he logged another big double-double accumulating 18 points and 16 boards while adding four assists and three blocks. Hood also got in on the double-double fun as he scored a team-high 21 points to go along with 11 boards.
Three others scored in double-figures for William Penn as Josh Watkins (Jr., Chicago, Ill., Sports Management) had 15 points off the bench, Gehring had 14 and Karmari Newman (Jr., Detroit, Mich., Digital Communication) had 13 points.
Eddie Daley (Jr., DeWitt, Michigan, Business Management) also provided good minutes off the bench as he tallied seven points and 10 rebounds.
“We didn’t play sharp today and we overcame a lot of adversity to find a way to win,” Head Coach John Henry said, “What a three-game week for Kevion ‘KB’ Blaylock.”
Next Up: The Statesmen will head into the conference tournament as the #1 overall seed and take on Evangel at the Penn Gymnasium on Thursday.
