Statesmen Walk Away with Victory After Strong Second Half

Oskaloosa– A dominant second half powered the William Penn men's basketball team to a 70-52 victory over Mount Mercy in Wednesday's Heart of America Athletic Conference opener. 

William Penn (4-1, 1-0 Heart) started fast, opening the game with a 6-0 run, but the Mustangs (1-4, 0-1 Heart) quickly caught up, claiming the lead at 10-8.  The visitors took control, eventually building a nine-point edge before the Statesmen slowly chipped away.  Down 25-16 with 9:04 to go in the opening half, the hosts locked in and closed on a 16-7 run to enter the locker room tied at 32-32.

WPU stayed in step with Mount Mercy, despite being outshot 38.2%-34.4%.

Jamir Reed (Jr., Philadelphia, Pa., Criminology) was a force early on, tallying a double-double by halftime with 10 points and 10 rebounds. 

The squads were still locked in a good battle around the 14-minute mark as WPU led just 42-41.  Fortunately, the Statesmen surged ahead with 10 unanswered points over the next five-plus minutes and were able to cruise to the victory.

The navy and gold shot an impressive 56.7% in the second half, while Mount Mercy was limited to just 25.0% from the field.  At game's end, William Penn owned a 45.2%-32.3% shooting advantage.

The visiting squad showed a slight advantage in its offensive rebounding effort (14-9), but they struggled to capitalize, managing only 10 second-chance points to WPU's 15. Overall, the Statesmen made up for being outrebounded 42-39.  

The Statesmen committed just 10 turnovers, compared to 14 from Mount Mercy, which WPU converted into 10 points off mistakes. The home squad also narrowly controlled the paint, outscoring the Mustangs 38–34.

Reed led the Statesmen scorers with 16 points, shooting 5-for-10 in the field. He also tallied 15 rebounds for his first double-double at William Penn. Manny Hammonds (So., Des Moines, Iowa, New Media) and Roy Jones III (Jr., Pensacola, Fla., Psychology) each tallied 10 points, while Jones III added two steals.

Malique Oates (Jr., Huntsville, Ala., Sports Management) had an all-around performance, contributing nine points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals, and four blocks. The Statesmen bench also stepped up, accounting for 23 points, led by Naysean Baisy (Sr., Seattle, Wash., Sports Management) with eight points. 

"I thought Mount Mercy gave us a go tonight. Our defense in the second half was fantastic to hold them to 20 points," said Head Coach John Henry. "We are going to enjoy this tonight and get back to work tomorrow because we've got a great opponent in Central Methodist here on Saturday."

Up Next: The Statesmen take on Heart foe Central Methodist at Penn Gymnasium Saturday at 4 p.m.