William Penn on Losing End in Nebraska

Peru, Neb.--Jason Priah (Jr., Shaker Heights, Ohio, Information Technology) had a career day, but his teammates could not do enough to make up the difference as the Statesmen men's basketball team fell 105-87 to Peru State in Heart of America Athletic Conference play Saturday.

WPU (5-22, 4-19 Heart) only trailed by seven at halftime, but struggled in most departments in the loss, including being outshot 50.7%-44.3% and being outrebounded 40-33.

The visitors, who never led in the contest, permitted the first six points of the day to the Bobcats (16-10, 12-10 Heart) before answering with an 8-2 run to knot the score at 8-8.  PSC took control again, though, and was up 34-19 before the navy and gold bounced and got within two at 45-43 in the waning moments of the first half.

Unfortunately, the hosts, who led 50-43 at intermission, stretched the margin to double digits quickly in the second period and were not challenged the remainder of the bout.

Priah scored 21 points on 6-for-10 shooting, including going 3-for-4 from behind the arc.  Overall, the Statesmen were 8-for-17 on three-pointers (47.1%).  He also connected on all six of his free throws, guiding WPU to a strong outing at the line (17-for-19, 89.5%).

Jayvin Brown (So., Waldorf, Md., Wellness and Recreation), who was 8-for-8 at the charity stripe, was next with 18 points, along with nine rebounds and four rebounds.  Jaz Farrell (Sr., Miramar, Fla., Interdisciplinary Studies), with 13, and Larontae Mormant (Sr., Bloomington, Minn., Business Management), with 11, also joined the double-digit club.  Farrell notched three steals as well.

Manny Hammonds (Fr., Des Moines, Iowa, New Media) finished with eight points, while Willie Anderson (Jr., Norristown, Pa., Applied Computer Science) and Cam Marshall (So., San Diego, Calif., Sports Management) also poured in seven apiece.

The navy and gold were outscored 14-9 in second-chance points and due to 15 turnovers (11 for PSC), also gave up a 12-11 margin in points off errors.

Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa next Wednesday as it hosts Heart foe Clarke in its home finale at 7:30 p.m.