WPU Reaches 20-Win Mark with Victory Over Bobcats
Peru, Neb.–In their second matchup of the season, the William Penn men’s basketball team came out on top against the Peru State Bobcats, winning by a score of 95-81.
The win for the Statesmen pushes their record to 20-1 overall and 11-1 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference. This is the program’s 10th consecutive season with 20 or more wins, and the 15th time in the last 18 years that they have reached that mark.
The Bobcats took a 5-0 lead to begin the game, but there wasn’t much to be had in the way of scoring from either side as the Statesmen took nearly three minutes to get on the board. Kevion Blaylock (Sr., Houston, Texas, Information Technology) got things going with a pair of free throws and was quickly followed by a triple from Chanze Cruesoe (So., St. Louis, Mo., Business Management). Peru State continued to score in bunches, however, and promptly opened the lead to 10 points.
After Frederick Jackson (Sr., Killeen, Texas, Interdisciplinary Studies) slammed one home, Blaylock and Josh Watkins (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Sports Management) hit successive threes to shrink the deficit back to two. After missing his first few attempts, Karmari Newman (Sr., Detroit, Mich., Digital Communication) got one to go from downtown, but the hosts were not quite ready to relinquish the lead.
The Bobcats pushed their lead back to six, but the navy and gold hit back hard to take their first lead. Reyhan Cobb (Jr., Atlanta, Ga., Sociology) got a dunk, then Newman hit back-to-back threes. The two teams continued to trade points until Peru State led 39-38 with 2:30 remaining in the half, and then the Statesmen completely took over. They went on a 12-0 scoring run to finish the half. Newman hit another pair of threes, and Blaylock, Watkins, and Jackson each added two points to enter the break on a high note.
Newman, who struggled out of the gate, caught fire to finish the half, leading all scorers with 19 points including a 5-9 mark from beyond the arc. Blaylock had also reached double-digits with 13, with Cruesoe and Watkins chipping in five apiece.
William Penn came out of halftime with as much fire as they entered it with, ripping off another nine points in a row as Cobb made the first three baskets of the half and Newman punctuated the run with another three.
The hosts were able to chip into the lead, cutting it back into single digits at 67-58, but they never progressed further than that. The Statesmen continued to shoot well down the stretch, keeping Peru State from mounting any kind of comeback and coasting to the victory.
Blaylock led all scorers with 25 points, turning in another double-double with a 14 rebound effort. Newman finished right behind him with 24, finishing 6-13 from downtown.
Cruesoe also reached double figures with 15 points, finishing just shy of a double-double with nine assists. Cobb was also just shy of a double-double, tallying 10 points and eight boards.
The Statesmen shot an even 50% from the floor, including 41.7% from beyond the arc, while holding the Bobcats to a 41% clip and only 29.2% from deep. The navy and gold also won the battle on the boards, out-rebounding Peru State 46-37.
“Karmari and Kevion proved they are all-American players tonight,” said Head Coach John Henry. “This is a great win for our team on the road.”
What’s Next: The Statesmen have another tough road matchup ahead of them on Saturday in the Evangel Valor. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 PM.
