Statesmen Unable to Catch Ravens

Oskaloosa--The William Penn men's basketball team dominated the offensive glass, but failed to convert that into a victory as it fell 68-60 to Benedictine in Heart of America Athletic Conference play Saturday.

WPU (5-16, 4-13 Heart) was outshot 47.5%-34.3%, but owned a 43-34 edge in rebounding, including a 16-4 mark on the offensive end.  It was, however, not enough to give the Statesmen a season sweep against the Ravens (7-12, 6-10 Heart).

Down 5-0 in the opening minute of the evening, the navy and gold played catch-up for much of the game.  BC eventually pushed its margin to a game-high 13 at 28-15 before the hosts figured things out and got within five at halftime, 35-30.

A 10-4 run to start the second stanza, culminated by a three-pointer by Manny Hammonds (Fr., Des Moines, Iowa, New Media), pushed William Penn into the lead for the first time.  The lead was short-lived, but a bucket by Willie Anderson (Jr., Norristown, Pa., Applied Computer Science) two minutes later again put the Statesmen out front again.  WPU continued to keep the Ravens in the rearview for a few more possessions, but Benedictine eventually rallied and claimed the advantage for good, courtesy of an 11-0 run.

As aforementioned, the hosts took care of the glass, including scoring 18 second-chance points, compared to just three for the visitors.

In a game that featured very few whistles, the Statesmen only accumulated six fouls, leading to BC going just 2-for-4 at the line.  WPU held a slight edge in that department as it finished 9-for-14 at the charity stripe.

The free throw advantage was unfortunately erased by the perimeter game; WPU was a competent 5-for-14, while Benedictine finished much better at 10-for-24.

Despite only committing 12 turnovers (11 for BC), the Statesmen lost the fight in points off turnovers to the tune of 20-9.

Ontario Chapman (Sr., Evanston, Ill., Psychology) had a strong outing off the bench, guiding William Penn with 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting.  The senior collected a team-high eight rebounds as well.  Anderson also performed admirably in a non-starting role with 11 points, while Jaz Farrell (Sr., Miramar, Fla., Interdisciplinary Studies) joined him with 11.

Jayvin Brown (So., Waldorf, Md., Wellness and Recreation) scored eight points and handed out six assists, while Shug Sneed (Jr., Chicago, Ill., Business Management) also contributed five points.

Next Up: William Penn remains in Oskaloosa next Wednesday to host Grand View in Heart play at 7:30 p.m.