WPU Falls Just Short at MVC

Marshall, Mo.--The William Penn men's basketball team put itself in position to possibly get a road win Saturday, but could not execute down the stretch in an 81-79 Heart of America Athletic Conference loss to Missouri Valley.

The Statesmen (3-7, 2-4 Heart), who outshot the Vikings 47.6%-42.4%, led at halftime, but faltered in the second half.

The visitors trailed 15-8 early, but rattled off 12 unanswered and eventually led 35-31 at the break.  WPU was in front despite being just 1-for-8 from behind the arc in the first half.  Overall, the navy and gold finished 5-for-28 (17.9%) from the perimeter, but Missouri Valley was also poor at 7-for-26 (26.9%).

WPU remained in the lead for the first five-plus minutes of the second stanza, but the Vikings (3-6, 2-3 Heart) went ahead for good at 46-45.  The home crew widened the margin to 12 points a few minutes later, but the Statesmen refused to go away.

Cam Marshall (So., San Diego, Calif., Sports Management) finally got the visitors within one at 73-72 on a deep ball with 2:14 still on the clock.  Both sides came up empty in their ensuing possessions, and then MVC answered with a trifecta of its own.

Manny Hammonds (Fr., Des Moines, Iowa, New Media) connected on his own three-pointer and the Statesmen fouled a few seconds later.  The Vikings made it a three-point game at 80-77 with a pair of free throws, while on the other end, CJ Washington (Sr., Houston, Texas, Sports Management) was knocked down during a three-point attempt by Marshall.

Washington missed his try, but Larontae Mormant (Sr., Bloomington, Minn., Business Management) pulled down the rebound to keep hope alive.  After a timeout, Washington got the ball and was again fouled on a three-pointer with four seconds left.

Unfortunately, he was able to connect on just two of his three shots, trimming the deficit to one at 80-79 with 2.1 seconds on the clock.  The Statesmen fouled the Vikings and they made one more inconsequential free throw.  The second was off-target and Washington corralled the rebound, but all he could do was launch a desperation three-pointer as time expired.  It did not fall and the Statesmen were denied on the road.

William Penn was a competent 14-for-19 at the line (73.7%), while Missouri Valley was just a bit better at 75.0% (18-for-24).

Although they were stronger on the glass with a 42-37 rebounding edge, the Statesmen were actually outscored 19-16 in second-chance points.  WPU was also not able to overcome 18 turnovers (13 for MVC) which turned into a 19-13 deficit in points off mistakes.

Five players reached double figures with Washington leading the quintet with 16 points.  He also managed a team-high eight rebounds.  Hammonds hit four three-pointers en route to 15 points, while Mormant was 6-for-7 from the floor for 12 points.

Marshall added 11 points to guide the non-starters, while Jayvin Brown (So., Waldorf, Md., Business Management) hit the mark as well with 10.  Mike Elliott (So., Indianapolis, Ind., Business Management) finished with six points and Ontario Chapman (Sr., Evanston, Ill., Psychology) was good for five more.

Although he did not score, Marcus Bell (Sr., Shreveport, La., Wellness and Recreation) stuffed the stat sheet with nine assists, seven rebounds, and three steals.

"We gave up far too many offensive rebounds and committed too many turnovers," Head Coach John Henry said.  "I feel this is a game we should have won.  We continue to miss players for various reasons, but whoever is in uniform is who plays.  I really thought we played with passion, including Marcus Bell."

Next Up: William Penn will travel to Baldwin City, Kan. next Saturday to face Baker in Heart play at 2 p.m.