Baldwin City, Kan.–After a tough setback over the weekend, the Statesmen men’s basketball team needed to get its confidence back and did soMonday with an emphatic 93-78 Heart of America Athletic Conference win over Baker.
#5 WPU (14-2, 7-1 Heart) went wire-to-wire to return to the winning trail. The Wildcats (7-8, 3-5 Heart) attempted to stay close, trailing just 16-15, but the visitors scored the next five points and never led by less than five again.
Up 45-33 at halftime, the navy and gold weathered a few small Baker runs after the break, finishing the win with a steamy 56.9{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b} shooting mark (Baker was solid as well at 50.0{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b}).
William Penn also succeeded at the line (16-for-20, 80.0{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b}) and behind the arc (11-for-20, 45.8{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b}). The victors forced BU into 14 turnovers (12 for WPU), leading to a 20-13 margin in points off turnovers. Board play was dominated by the Statesmen as well at 35-24, leading the Statesmen to outscore the Wildcats 13-9 in second-chance points.
Dondre Alexander (Jr., Iowa City, Iowa, Physical Education) was as efficient as he has been all year, going 8-for-13 (5-for-10 3-PT) en route to 22 points. He also dished out three assists and stole two Wildcat passes.
Steven Roundtree (Sr., Jacksonville, Fla., Physical Education) was next with 18 points, while Jessie Pernell (Sr., North Augusta, S.C., Physical Education), with 16, and Brady Burford (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Physical Education), with 12, also reached double digits.
Jeff Drew (Sr., Little Rock, Ark., Sociology) guided the bench with seven points. Antonio Levy (Jr., Chicago, Ill., Physical Education) (six points) and Charles Knowles (Jr., Chicago, Ill., Physical Education) (team-high six rebounds) returned to the hardwood in solid fashion.
“This was a good bounce-back win for us,” Head Coach John Henry said. “We were all embarrassed by our performance last Saturday, so we needed this tonight.”
Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa Thursday to host Central Methodist (Mo.) in Heart play at 7:30 p.m.
Story provided by Wade Steinlage
