Statesmen Succumb to Second Half Surge

Oskaloosa--The William Penn men's basketball team failed to shut the door on Mount Mercy in an 88-77 Heart of America Athletic Conference loss Thursday.

WPU (4-13, 3-10 Heart), which was outshot 50.0%-42.3%, countered by being much stronger on the glass with a 49-36 edge.  Unfortunately, 16 turnovers (12 for MMU) and a difficult night at the free-throw line (13-for-28) doomed the navy and gold as they squandered a double-digit advantage.

The hosts trailed 6-2 early, but posted a 9-1 run over the next two-plus minutes and stayed on top for the remainder of the first stanza.  Up by as many as 11 points at 25-14, the Statesmen settled on a three-point halftime lead, 39-36.

That margin ballooned to double figures once again as a three-pointer by Manny Hammonds (Fr., Des Moines, Iowa, New Media) made it 49-38 with 16:21 still left in regulation.  The Mustangs (6-11, 5-9 Heart) continued to hang around, but WPU stayed on top for the next handful of minutes, up 60-52 with 11:24 to go.

Unfortunately, the Statesmen allowed nine straight by Mount Mercy and were never in the lead again.  William Penn, however, did manage to knot the score on two more occasions, but the visitors pulled away with a 12-3 run.

To the navy and gold's credit, they did fight to the bitter end, trimming a 13-point deficit down to five in the final minute.  The rally fell short, though, and the Statesmen fell for the second time this year to MMU.

William Penn's rebounding advantage was converted into a 14-4 mark in second-chance points.  The hosts found perimeter shooting a bit trying as they finished 4-for-17, while Mount Mercy was 12-for-28.  Both sides struggled at the charity stripe as the Mustangs made only 14 of their 25 free throws.

Jaz Farrell (Sr., Miramar, Fla., Undecided) provided a spark off the bench with a team-high 21 points (9-for-13 FG).  Hammonds, with 14 points, and Justin Bradley (Jr., Okinawa, Japan, Biology), with 13, also hit double figures.

Shug Sneed (Jr., Chicago, Ill., Computer Science) added eight points, while Willie Anderson (Jr., Norristown, Pa., Applied Computer Science) and Jayvin Brown (So., Waldorf, Md., Business Management) were both good for seven more apiece.

Marcus Bell (Sr., Shreveport, La., Exercise Science) could not get dialed in via scoring, but contributed in other ways, including distributing eight assists and corralling seven rebounds.

"We are all very disappointed in this loss," Head Coach John Henry said.  "We played well for 30 minutes, but not the last 10."

Next Up: William Penn remains in Oskaloosa Thursday to host Park in Heart action at 4 p.m.