Statesmen Lose High-Scoring Affair to CMU

Oskaloosa--The William Penn men's basketball team could not keep the proverbial horses running all night as it fell 105-91 to Central Methodist in Heart of America Athletic Conference action Wednesday.

WPU (4-11, 3-8 Heart) eclipsed 90 points for the fourth time this season, but did not have enough answers for the Eagles (13-2, 9-2 Heart), who are now tied for second in the league.

Jaz Farrell (Sr., Miramar, Fla., Undecided) produced the first two points of the contest, but CMU answered and led for much of the night.  Trailing by as many as 14 points at 40-26, the Statesmen fought back, however, and climbed to within two at intermission (49-47).

The hosts continued to make life difficult for the visitors as they flushed three dunks (two by Farrell) early in the second stanza and led 57-55 at the 15:20 mark.

Unfortunately, Central Methodist caught fire and scored 11 consecutive points and never trailed again.

WPU outshot the Eagles 46.2%-41.0%, doing most of its damage in the interior with 54 points in the paint.  The visiting crew countered from the perimeter, however, with 14 three-pointers, while the navy and gold only knocked down three long balls.  The Statesmen also finished just 16-for-29 from the free-throw line (CMU was 23-for-34).

William Penn posted a slight rebounding edge at 50-49, but could not keep its opponent off the offensive glass.  CMU tallied a 17-14 advantage in offensive rebounds, which led to a 22-14 margin in second-chance points.

Farrell was one of four Statesmen players to reach double figures as he finished with 24 points.  In a stat sheet-stuffing performance, the senior also managed five steals, three rebounds, three assists, and two blocks.

Playing in just his second game in the navy and gold, Willie Anderson (Jr., Norristown, Pa., Applied Computer Science) poured in 20 points to pace the bench.  Manny Hammonds (Fr., Des Moines, Iowa, New Media) was next with 14 points, while Jayvin Brown (So., Waldorf, Md., Business Management), with 10, also reached double digits.  Hammonds hit all three of William Penn's three-pointers, while Brown just missed a double-double with nine rebounds.  Brown dished out five assists as well.

Shug Sneed (Jr., Chicago, Ill., Computer Science) finished with eight points, and Justin Bradley (Jr., Okinawa, Japan, Biology) managed six more for the hosts.

Sixteen turnovers (13 for the Eagles) also resulted in WPU being outscored 19-14 in points off turnovers.

Next Up: William Penn remains in Oskaloosa Saturday to host MidAmerica Nazarene in Heart action at 4 p.m.