OSKALOOSA — The William Penn men’s basketball team is headed back to the Heart Championship title game after an emphatic 84-63 semifinal victory over Grand View Friday night inside Penn Gym.
The second-seeded Statesmen improve to 24-6 overall and will face No. 24 and top-seeded Graceland Monday at 7 p.m. in Lamoni, Iowa. William Penn swept the season series against the Yellowjackets, winning both previous matchups.
Friday’s win carried extra motivation. The Statesmen entered the semifinal seeking redemption after a 70-69 loss to Grand View in the early February Toilet Paper Game. They also aimed to continue a tradition of excellence—advancing to the conference finals for the 16th time in the last 25 years.
William Penn wasted no time setting the tone. After building a slim 13-9 edge, the Navy and Gold exploded on a 15-0 surge to stretch the margin to 28-9. Grand View trimmed the deficit to 37-21 late in the half, but the Statesmen maintained control and carried a commanding 49-30 lead into the break.
The Statesmen shot 51.3% from the field in the first half and 33.3% from beyond the arc, while limiting the Vikings to 36.7% shooting and just 20% from three-point range.
Foday Sheriff (Jr., Upper Darby, Pa., Business Management) dominated the opening 20 minutes with 21 points and nine rebounds. Malik Larane (Jr., Palmdale, Calif., Sports Management) added eight first-half points.
Grand View attempted to chip away early in the second half, but William Penn responded every time. A 10-2 run midway through the period pushed the lead to its largest margin, and the Vikings never seriously threatened again as the Statesmen closed out the 21-point victory.
William Penn finished the game shooting 49.3% from the floor while holding Grand View to 37.9%. The Vikings connected on just 16.7% from three, compared to 26.9% for WPU.
Sheriff capped off his night with 23 points and 12 rebounds, securing his 17th double-double of the 2025-2026 campaign. Larane poured in 22 points and grabbed seven boards.
Alif Bass (Jr., Newark, N.J., Sports Management) orchestrated the offense with nine assists, while Yonis Mohamud (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn., Sports Management) sparked the defense with five steals and seven points.
The Statesmen controlled the glass, outrebounding Grand View 39-32, including a 12-11 edge on the offensive boards. That translated into a 16-4 advantage in second-chance points. William Penn also turned 14 Viking turnovers into 15 points while committing just 11 turnovers that resulted in only four Grand View points.
“Trueblood Avenue was rocking tonight!! Our guys played so hard tonight, right from the beginning,” said Head Coach John Henry. “Foday Sheriff looked like the conference player of the year.”
Henry added, “I’m so happy for our entire team, coaches, and players!!”
“Today we played as a team. Everybody stayed together, played hard, and that was the game that we needed,” said Alif Bass. “Just share the ball and stay together.”
“Tonight was a complete team effort top to bottom,” Yonis Mohamud said. “We understood how important this game was. Malik Larane had a great game, Foday Sheriff had an amazing game. It was just a really fun game—one of my favorites this year. I love this team. Onto the next.”
Foday Sheriff emphasized the motivation behind the performance, “After Benedictine and all week, we were thinking about the Toilet Paper game and how we let that opportunity slip.”
He continued, “Coach John Henry and the staff prepared us perfectly. We knew what we wanted, what we needed, and where we wanted to go—that’s one more win.”
