Statesmen Use Hot Perimeter Effort to Capture Heart Championship Outright

Atchison, Kan.--The William Penn men's basketball team was excellent from deep as it took down Benedictine 86-60 to claim the outright regular season Heart of America Athletic Conference crown.

The Statesmen (23-2, 19-0 Heart), winners of 19 in a row, made 45.2% of their shots from the field while shooting an impressive 51.4% from three-point range (19-for-37).  The 19 trifectas are not only a season high, but are also the most for the program since making 19 against Oak Hills Christian on November 27, 2015.

Benedictine (11-15, 9-11 Heart), conversely, was limited to just 30.3% of its shots from the field, while only shooting 29% from three-point range.

WPU started off hot per the usual, going up 11-3 in the first couple of minutes. Benedictine, however, went on a run of its own, tying the game up at 19-19 with just under 10 minutes left in the first half. A back-and-forth first half with multiple lead changes ended up with the squads tied 31-31 going into halftime.

William Penn stormed out of the locker room, not only taking the lead but pushing it to 54-43 advantage after a pair of three-pointers by Daniel Autrey (Jr., Detroit, Mich., Business Management), who made six total in the game. From there, William Penn ran away with the game, silencing the opposing crowd.

Malik Edwards (So., Drexel Hill, Pa., Business Management) dropped 25 points in the game, while Autrey tallied 18, all from behind the arc.  James Pennington (Sr., Calumet City, Ill., Sports Management) also reached double figures with 13 points.

Eddie Daley (Grad., DeWitt, Mich., Master's of Organizational Leadership) continued to be a force down low, grabbing eight rebounds and eight points, while Muneer Newton (So., Philadelphia, Pa., Business Management) recorded nine rebounds (four points as well).  Leading in rebounds again, WPU grabbed a 47-35 advantage.

Chanze Cruesoe (Jr., St. Louis, Mo., Business Management) and CJ Washington (Jr., Houston, Texas) each had five points Saturday.

WPU overcame 16 turnovers (11 for BC) to pick up the win and remain perfect in league play.

"Our second half was amazing," stated Head Coach John Henry. "We haven't shot from three like that in the second half in a while. Specifically, Daniel Autrey caught fire in that second half."

Next Up: William Penn will return to Oskaloosa Monday to host Missouri Valley in a rescheduled Heart game at 6 p.m.