WPU Ends Season at Hands of Top-Ranked Georgetown
Brady Burford’s final game as a Statesmen was a good one with 20 points and nine rebounds
Kansas City, Mo.–When the teams traveled into their respective locker rooms at halftime Saturday afternoon, it appeared a classic was awaiting the crowd in Kansas City Municipal Auditorium, but unfortunately the Statesmen men’s basketball team could not keep up with the best team in the land in a 99-80 quarterfinal loss to Georgetown (Ky.) at the Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I National Championships.
#3 seed William Penn ends its year with a 29-7 record, tallying the second-most wins in program history and putting the navy and gold on the map in NAIA Division I. Being one of the final eight squads left may have been a ludicrous proposition to some at the start of the campaign, but through the first 20 minutes of play, there was no doubt the Statesmen belonged among the nation’s elite.
The opening stanza was simply epic with six ties and nine lead changes. Every time it appeared one of the two teams was about to pull away, the other reeled them right back in. The Statesmen led by seven early and eventually walked off the hardwood at intermission tied with the Tigers (31-3) at 41-41.
Georgetown, the unofficial King of NAIA Division I, is making its 35th appearance at the event with 61 tournament wins entering this week. To be clear, the team knows how to win once it gets to Kansas City. That was unfortunately all too apparent in the second half as the Tigers went to another level and opened with a 14-2 run. Everything that was right for William Penn in the first half was suddenly very wrong after the break. If the Statesmen gathered even a little momentum, it was immediately snatched away by GC.
In the end, WPU fell off the pace as it was outshot 47.9%-36.8% and outrebounded 51-42. It marked just the fourth time all year that the nation’s top rebounding team was on the losing side of that category.
William Penn controlled the ball well with three fewer turnovers (10-13), leading to a 17-15 edge in points off turnovers. It just was not enough however.
The positives? They unequivocally outweigh the negatives, highlighted by the fact WPU is now 8-3 (two quarterfinal trips and one to the finals) over its last three national tournament appearances.
Brady Burford (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Physical Education), one of William Penn’s 10 seniors to see the collegiate court for the last time, led the navy and gold with a near double-double of 20 points and nine rebounds.
His four fellow starters also reached double digits, including Kevin Smith (Jr., Baltimore, Md., Physical Education) with 13 points. Jessie Pernell (Sr., North Augusta, S.C., Physical Education) and Jarvis Haywood (Jr., Charlotte, N.C., Business Management) had 12 each, while Steven Roundtree (Sr., Jacksonville, Fla., Physical Education) was also one rebound shy of a double-double with an 11-point, nine-board showing.
Pernell also dished out six assists, while Smith had three steals. Shane Bosek (Sr., Lowry, Minn., Physical Education) connected on two three-pointers for six points, and Josh Caldwell (Sr., Denver, Colo., Physical Education) produced four points and two blocks.
The loss ends the careers of Bosek, Burford, Caldwell, Jeff Drew (Sr., Little Rock, Ark., Sociology), Jake Guenther (Sr., Altoona, Iowa, Secondary Education), Pernell, Roundtree, Davion Scott (Sr., St. Louis, Mo., Secondary Education), Stephen Smith (Sr., Jonesboro, Ark., Exercise Science), and Sam Sykes (Sr., Houston, Texas, Business Management).
“I do not mind losing to Georgetown; they are a tremendous program with great history,” Head Coach John Henry said. “I am unfulfilled, though, by the way we lost, in not giving our best effort. This season and these players deserved better. When you get to nationals, you have to play well for a full 40 minutes and we did not do that. This was a great year and we have so much to be proud of. That was the most distraught locker room I have ever been in, but hopefully everyone, including all of these seniors, realize what they accomplished and someday appreciate the legacy they left here.”
“I want to thank our fans, here and everywhere, for their support,” Henry added. “This was a heckuva ride.”
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