OSKALOOSA — The William Penn’s men’s basketball team, hosts of the first two rounds of the NAIA National Championship, survived the onslaught Saint Xavier brought and came from behind in the second half to win 75-65 and advance to the championship round of the Oskaloosa Bracket.
The top-seeded Statesmen (29-3) of the Cramer Quadrant were outshot by #16 seed SXU (24-8) 44.4%-39.4%, including a 37.5%-20.8% deficit from behind the arc. Fortunately, the home team made up for its shooting woes with a dominating 49-30 edge in rebounding, headlined by a 19-3 mark in offensive boards (11-3 edge in second-chance points).
In a game that saw two ties and six lead changes, the victors jumped out to a 6-2 lead after an Eddie Daley (Grad., DeWitt, Mich., Master’s of Organizational Leadership) layup. The Cougars responded, and after a few lead switches, the visitors made a three-pointer to go up 15-12 and stayed on top the rest of the period, eventually holding a 33-28 margin at halftime.
That deficit would fortunately be erased quickly after intermission as the Statesmen, who trailed 40-36, went on an 8-0 run, paced by seven in a row from Daniel Autrey (Jr., Detroit, Mich., Business Management). The junior, who led the bench with 10 points, capped the stretch with a dunk.
William Penn kept its lead the rest of the evening, extending it to as much as 11 at 62-51 with 5:47 left in regulation on an Autrey trifecta.
The Statesmen shooting issues seeped into the charity stripe (18-for-32, 56.3%), but they made the ones that counted in the closing minutes, including Chanze Cruesoe (Jr., St. Louis, Mo., Business Management) knocking down four in a row in the final 1:13 to seal the victory.
Daley led the way for WPU, finishing with a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds, while frontcourt mate Muneer Newton (Fr., Philadelphia, Pa., Business Management) tied Daley with 12 points (five rebounds as well).
James Pennington (Sr., Calumet City, Ill., Sports Management), who left the game late in the second stanza, also hit double figures with 10 points. Cruesoe finished with eight points and five assists, while CJ Washington (Jr., Houston, Texas) had seven points in a non-starting role.
Malik Edwards (Fr., Drexel Hill, Pa., Business Management) recorded six points and Rodrigo Soares (So., Dallas, Texas, Sports Management) had five timely points. DJ Purnell (So., Minneapolis, Minn., Business Management) also managed five rebounds, along with playing some very key minutes.
WPU was a bit better in ball control with just 11 turnovers (14 for SXU), which led to a 9-6 margin in points off turnovers.
“Rico Soares, DJ Purnell, and Daniel Autrey were awesome off the bench,” said Head Coach John Henry. “We wore them down with depth and running. All respect to Saint Xavier, though; that’s a great team. ”
Next Up: William Penn will play #8 seed Rio Grande Wednesday at 7 p.m. with the winner advancing to the Championship’s Final Site in Kansas City, Mo.
