Defense Shines in Road Win Over Benedictine

Atchison, Kan.--The William Penn men's basketball team leaned on its defense to take down Benedictine 68-53 in Heart of America Athletic Conference action Saturday.

WPU (4-9, 3-6 Heart), which snapped a three-game losing streak, limited the Ravens to just 32.8% from the floor, while posting a dominating 53-28 advantage in rebounding.  That helped the visitors overcome 27 turnovers in a sloppy victory where they shot 43.4% overall.

The Statesmen, who permitted their fewest points since giving up just 52 against Missouri Baptist on November 7, 2020, led most of the contest.

Shug Sneed (Jr., Chicago, Ill., Computer Science) scored the first bucket of the game and then helped William Penn to an 11-6 advantage with another score at the 15:31 mark.  BC (4-7, 2-6 Heart) grabbed their only two leads midway through the opening period, but Marcus Bell (Sr., Shreveport, La., Wellness and Recreation) gave William Penn the edge for good at 27-26 on a three-pointer with 7:04 on the clock.

Up 34-32 at halftime, the Statesmen margin quickly grew to double digits, where it stayed for the majority of the latter half.  The Ravens closed to within five at 43-38, but six unanswered points, all by Jayvin Brown (So., Waldorf, Md., Business Management), gave the Statesmen breathing room and they cruised to the final buzzer.

WPU won with a balanced attack; 11 players scored in the low-scoring affair.  Brown, who also assisted three times Saturday, and Jaz Farrell (Sr., Miramar, Fla., Undecided) both tallied 12 points, while Sneed recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.  Overall, the navy and gold corralled 14 offensive rebounds that led to 13 second-chance points.

Jason Priah (Jr., Shaker Heights, Ohio) guided the non-starters with 10 points, while Mike Elliott (So., Indianapolis, Ind., Business Management) was good for seven as well.

William Penn, which was efficient at the free-throw line at 16-for-20, had to overcome 21 points off turnovers by Benedictine.

"This is a great way to head into the holiday break," Head Coach John Henry said.  "I thought Jayvin Brown was awesome tonight in all aspects."

Next Up: William Penn returns to action on Saturday, January 6 as it hosts Peru State in Heart play at 4 p.m.