Statesmen Post Massive Second Half in Home-Opening Win

Oskaloosa--The William Penn men's basketball team showed what it is capable of as it dominated Bethel (Ind.) 118-98 in non-conference action Tuesday.

William Penn (3-1) handed the Pilots (5-1) their first loss of the season; BU came in with a hefty resume, having beaten two top-25 ranked teams earlier this season. WPU was excellent in the turnover battle, forcing the visitors into 19 mistakes and converting them into 23 points. Conversely, the Statesmen committed just seven turnovers which turned into seven Bethel points.

The navy and gold overcame being outshot 50-8%-49.4% (43-for-87 for WPU) by hitting 40.6% from the three-point line (13-for-32). WPU also had to make up for a deficit at the free-throw line as the Pilots made six more free throws (25-19).

The teams were even on the boards with BU holding a 42-41 advantage, but a 14-9 edge in offensive rebounds led to a significant 20-8 edge in second-chance points for the victors.

Bethel took an early lead, going up 6-1 before Eddie Daley (Grad., DeWitt, Mich., Master's of Organizational Leadership) hit a three-pointer that initiated a 7-0 run for the Statesmen as they took an 8-6 lead. The lead went back and forth for the next couple minutes until a 12-4 run put WPU up 27-19 with 11:47 left in the first half. Daniel Rosenber (So., Burnsville, Minn., Sports Management) highlighted the run with a trio of trifectas.

The rest of the first half continued to be a seesaw battle with 12 lead changes taking place, but William Penn was able to go up for good right before the break behind a pair of Daley free throws that made it 47-45 after 20 minutes. Daley dominated from inside and outside Tuesday as he shot 10-for-14 from the field and 4-for-7 from three-point range en route to a double-double of 29 points and 10 rebounds.

Helped by back-to-back buckets from Muneer Newton (Fr., Philadelphia, Pa., Business Management), William Penn flew out of the locker room with six straight points to force a Pilot timeout. Bethel quickly closed the margin to four, but the Statesmen answered with a 12-5 run and remained up by double digits the rest of the night.

William Penn extended the advantage to a game-high 24 points at 114-90 with 3:32 left in regulation and coasted to the final buzzer. The Statesmen outscored Bethel 71-53 in the second half on 59.1% shooting.

Malik Edwards (Fr., Drexel Hill, Pa., Business Management) finished the game with 20 points on 5-for-14 shooting from the field. Rosenber made his presence felt off the bench, chipping in 18 points on 6-for-9 shooting and 4-for-7 from three-point range.

James Pennington (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Sports Management), who had 16 points and six assists, and Chanze Cruesoe (Jr., St. Louis, Mo., Business Management), with 12 points and a team-high eight assists, were also both big contributors in starting roles, while fellow starter Muneer Newton (Fr., Philadelphia, Pa., Business Management) added in eight points and five rebounds.

Daniel Autrey (Jr., Detroit, Mich., Business Management) added 11 points off the bench in an efficient 4-for-7 shooting performance.

"Bethel has a great team; this was an amazingly good win for us," said Head Coach John Henry. "Our staff, our scout team, and every single player made this win happen tonight. Rosenber was electric and Daley was a beast. Thank you to all of the fans as well; having a solid crowd that was very loud is always helpful."

Next Up: William Penn will be back in action Saturday, hosting Columbia (Mo.) at 4 p.m. in another non-conference matchup.