Strong Opening Carries Statesmen Over Pirates

Oskaloosa--The William Penn men's basketball team led all 40 minutes as it claimed a 109-80 win over Heart of America Athletic Conference opponent Park Saturday.

William Penn (13-2, 9-0 Heart), which has won nine in a row, found its way from the three-point line, shooting 37.8% (14-for-37), while Park (5-9, 3-6 Heart) shot just 29.2% from behind the arc.

Despite the lopsided score, the Statesmen were actually outshot from the field at 46.3-45.1%, but the navy and gold dominated the glass at 55-38, including a resounding 26-8 mark in offensive rebounds that led to a 29-11 edge in second-chance points.

The scoring came in bunches as William Penn took a quick 19-8 lead in the first three minutes of the game.  The offense did not slow down as Daniel Autrey (Jr., Detroit, Mich., Business Management) ended the half with a three-pointer to put WPU up 55-35 at intermission.

The Statesmen continued to build on their lead in the second stanza, extending it to a game-high 35 points twice before settling on the 29-point difference.  The hosts were able to empty their bench with all 11 players scoring in the victory.

Malik Edwards (Fr., Drexel Hill, Pa., Business Management) led all players with 22 points, while Eddie Daley (Grad., DeWitt, Mich., Master's of Organizational Leadership) had 14 along with eight rebounds.

Double-doubles were produced by both Muneer Newton (Fr., Philadelphia, Pa., Business Management) (11 points and 11 rebounds) and Chanze Cruesoe (Jr., St. Louis, Mo., Business Management) (10 points and 11 assists), while fellow starter CJ Washington (Jr., Houston, Texas) added 10 points in the contest.

Daniel Rosenber (So., Burnsville, Minn., Sports Management) had 13 and eight rebounds, leading the non-starters who finished with 42 total points. Autrey was next with 12 points and seven rebounds, while Brian Rios (Jr., El Paso, Texas, Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management) recorded eight points and DJ Purnell (So., Minneapolis, Minn.) had six.

Next up: The Statesmen will travel to Peru, Neb. next Wednesday to face Peru State in Heart play at 7:30 p.m.