WPU Completes Season Sweep of AIB
William Penn University Athletics
Des Moines–The Statesmen men’s basketball team recovered from a weak start to drop AIB 99-76 in Midwest Collegiate Conference play Wednesday.
William Penn (16-9, 6-3 MCC) came out flat-footed defensively and watched as the host Eagles (1-25, 1-9 MCC) rolled out to a 24-14 advantage just 7:44 into the evening. Fortunately, the navy and gold got hot from deep, making four consecutive three-pointers to draw even at 26-26 only 1:33 later.
AIB regained the lead briefly, but a layup by Mike Aldeman (Jr., Iowa City, Iowa, Education) with 6:17 left in the first half gave the Statesmen the lead for good. The advantage grew to 11 twice in the first stanza before WPU settled for a 45-39 halftime margin.
The home squad scored the first two points of the second half, but the rest of the period belonged to the boys in the navy uniforms. With the lead still just nine at 59-50 with 12:57 to go, an 11-2 William Penn run put the contest out of reach. Courtesy of a 57.1%-33.3% second-half shooting edge, WPU led by as much as 25 points. In the end, William Penn outshot AIB 50.8%-38.9%.
The Statesmen were also better on the boards, 46-38, but had three fewer on the offensive end. They still managed a slight 10-7 edge in second-chance points though. Despite three more turnovers (15-12), William Penn was also much more opportunistic with 21 points off mistakes, compared to just 11 for the Eagles.
WPU made seven more three-pointers (14-7) and ten more free throws (23-13) than its host as well. The team not only connected on a lot of deep shots, but also hit a high percentage. Its 46.7% three-point clip (14-for-30) was its third-best of the year and best since November 22.
Kelly Madison (Jr., Des Moines, Iowa, Physical Education) headlined the scoring column with 24 points, including three three-pointers and a 9-for-12 free-throw outing.
Blake Walker (Sr., Rose Garden, Physical Education) narrowly missed a double-double, scoring 18 points with nine assists.
One game removed from his 43-point effort against Clarke, Alec Schwab (Jr., Peru, Ill., Business Management) added 16 points (4 3-PT) and managed five steals. Logan Alexander (So., Eddyville, Iowa, Undecided) joined the double-digit club as well with 12 points.
Aldeman and Roberts Baltruns (So., Riga, Latvia, Business Management) finished with nine points each, while Tyler Stahle (So., Bountiful, Utah, Business Management) had six.
Erik McGee (Jr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Elementary Education), the league’s best rebounder, continued to impress on the glass with 15 caroms. The junior scored three points and Jesse Utt (Fr., Cowgill, Mo., Industrial Technology) contributed two points as all nine Statesmen players got on the board Wednesday.
Next: William Penn travels to Cedar Rapids Saturday to face Mount Mercy in MCC play at 3 p.m.
