Statesmen Succumb to Pride in Heart Opener

Dubuque--The William Penn men's basketball team could not hold off Clarke as it fell 98-90 in its Heart of America Athletic Conference opener Saturday.

WPU (1-4, 0-1 Heart) outshot the Pride 50.8%-43.5% and held a 43-33 edge in rebounding, but was outscored 33-18 at the free-throw line.

Larontae Mormant (Sr., Bloomington, Minn., Business Management) scored the first two navy and gold buckets (three of the first four) as the Statesmen burst out to a 12-2 advantage.  Although CU (3-2, 1-0 Heart) closed to within two on a few different occasions, the visitors led the entire first half (one tie) and were ahead 49-43 at the break.

Unfortunately, the Pride continued to fight and overtook WPU a few minutes into the second period.  A three-pointer by Jason Priah (Jr., Shaker Heights, Ohio, Computer Science) at the 10:31 mark gave William Penn the advantage back at 68-66, but it would be the team's last lead as CU went on a huge run to pull away for the win.

Nearly all of the team's starters hit double figures with Shug Sneed (Jr., Chicago, Ill., Computer Science) and Jaz Farrell (Sr., Miramar, Fla., Undecided) leading the way with 16 points each.  Sneed was perfect from the field at 7-for-7 and pulled down a squad-best eight rebounds, while Farrell was 6-for-7 at the free-throw line.

Manny Hammonds (Fr., Des Moines, Iowa, New Media) finished with 13 points (three three-pointers), while Jayvin Brown (So., Waldorf, Md., Business Management) scored 10.  Mormant unfortunately got into foul trouble and was limited to only 13 minutes on the hardwood, but still scored eight points.

CJ Washington (Sr., Houston, Texas, Interdisciplinary Studies) hit double figures as well with 10 points off the bench, while Priah ended up with nine.  Mike Elliott (So., Indianapolis, Ind., Business Management) contributed five points and a team-high three assists as well.

The Statesmen unfortunately also could not overcome a tough showing behind the arc at 25.0% (6-for-24), while CU achieved its comeback with perimeter proficiency, going 11-for-21 overall (52.4%).

WPU committed 25 turnovers (14 for Clarke) and was outscored 29-22 in points off mistakes, but made up for that with a strong rebounding effort.  The navy and gold outscored the Pride 17-9 in second-chance points.

"We played an hard, emotional game tonight," Head Coach John Henry said.  "Unfortunately, Clarke outlasted us.  Despite the loss, I do believe we took steps forward this week."

Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa next Wednesday for its home and Heart opener, hosting Graceland at 7:30 p.m.