Oskaloosa–All five starters eclipsed double figures as the William Penn men’s basketball team started the second half of its season on a high note with a 109-91 Heart of America Athletic Conference victory over Benedictine Wednesday.
#3 WPU (13-1, 3-1 Heart) was outshot 49.3{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b}-48.7{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b}, but those numbers are deceiving as Wednesday’s matchup–the first for the team since December 9–was never really in question.
Tied with BC (9-6, 3-1 Heart) at 11-11 just three minutes into the evening, the navy and gold pulled away with 11 unanswered points. The streak was part of a 16-2 run and the victors stayed up by double digits the rest of the night.
William Penn owned a 54-36 halftime edge and extended the margin to a game-high 30 points at 86-56 with 11:27 still on the clock. The Ravens made the final score more reasonable, but could not slow down the Statesmen who scored a plethora of baskets in transition.
The home squad sunk 12 three-pointers and also hit 75.0{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b} of its free throws, but equally impressive was the fact that the team committed only nine turnovers. Benedictine was forced into 14 mistakes, which led to a 15-8 mark in points off turnovers.
WPU also controlled the glass with a 49-39 rebounding edge, which landed the winners a 23-12 edge in second-chance points.
Aakim Saintil (Sr., West Orange, N.J., Business Management), who had played sparingly in only a pair of games before the holiday break, enjoyed a big first start at home with 16 points. The senior connected on a game-best four three-pointers; he also assisted on six buckets.
“I am very happy to have Aakim back on the court,” Head Coach John Henry said. “He helps a lot with speed and shooting.”
Dominique Shaw (Sr., Lufkin, Texas, Wellness and Recreation) topped all participants with a double-double of 23 points (10-for-14 FG) and 10 rebounds. Terrell Thompson (Sr., Indianapolis, Ind., Wellness and Recreation) joined him above 20 points with 21 of his own, while dishing out seven assists as well.
Jovontae Carleton (Jr., El Cerrito, Calif., Sociology) was good for 19 points, while Mikeal Donaldson (Sr., Columbia, S.C.) also managed 14 points. Corbin Medley (Sr., Rogersville, Mo., General Accounting) just missed double figures with nine points.
“Saturday’s game at Graceland is going to be huge,” Henry said. “It will be a great challenge for us.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Lamoni Saturday to face Graceland in Heart action at 4 p.m.