Statesmen Defeated in Road Battle Versus Baker

Baldwin City, Kan.--The William Penn men's basketball team was knocked off on the road Saturday, falling 86-65 to Baker in Heart of America Athletic Conference action.

WPU (3-8, 2-5 Heart) was outshot 48.5%-36.6% and could not overcome 24 turnovers against the Wildcats (9-3, 7-1 Heart).

The visitors trailed 18-7 through just five minutes on the hardwood, but fought back to tie the game at 25-25 and eventually went up 29-26.

William Penn continued to lead by three at 33-30, but failed to hold off its host as BU scored nine unanswered and held the edge the rest of the afternoon.

Down eight at halftime (47-39), the Statesmen stayed within striking distance for much of the second stanza and trimmed the deficit to six (64-58) at the 8:38 mark.  The sides exchanged buckets before the Wildcats unfortunately pulled away on a 12-0 run.

William Penn's 24 turnovers (17 for Baker) led to a 23-13 deficit in points off mistakes.  Despite posting 16 offensive rebounds (WPU held a 45-44 rebounding advantage), the visiting crew was also outscored 19-14 in second-chance points.

CJ Washington (Sr., Houston, Texas, Sports Management) topped his team with 16 points, while Jaz Farrell (Sr., Miramar, Fla., Undecided) also reached double digits with 10 points.

Mike Elliott (So., Indianapolis, Ind., Business Management) just missed the mark with nine points, while Ontario Chapman (Sr., Evanston, Ill., Psychology) managed eight.

Cam Marshall (So., San Diego, Calif., Sports Management) contributed six points as well.

Both squads struggled at the free-throw line with the navy and gold going 8-for-13, while BU was 16-for-30.

Next Up: William Penn travels to Des Moines next Wednesday to face Grand View in Heart play at 7:30 p.m.