Oskaloosa–A tougher opponent entered Penn Gymnasium Saturday, but basically the same result was produced as the Statesmen men’s basketball team dominated Crossroads (Minn.) 123-75 in non-conference play.
For the second night in a row, seven players surpassed the double-digit mark for William Penn (8-1), which has now won eight-straight contests. It is the fourth time this year, and the third-consecutive matchup, in which the Statesmen have scored over 100 points.
The hosts started slowly, playing even with Crossroads (0-8) at 2-2 through the first three minutes of action. The navy and gold caught fire quickly thereafter with a 9-0 run and never led by less than nine points again.
William Penn was up 65-38 over the Knights at halftime and slowly pushed the advantage to as high as 48 points late in the matchup.
WPU outshot the Knights 59.0%-46.9% and held a 43-28 rebounding margin. The home squad also forced 23 turnovers (14 by WPU), leading the victors to a 27-17 edge in points off mistakes.
Dondre Alexander (Jr., Iowa City, Iowa, Physical Education) was electric from the field, going 10-for-13 (6-for-9 3-PT) for a game-high 27 points.
All 10 Statesmen cagers who scored shot at least 50% from the field, including Steven Roundtree (Sr., Jacksonville, Fla., Physical Education) who was 7-for-9 for 18 points. The senior also pulled down a game-best nine rebounds in addition to four steals.
Josh Caldwell (Sr., Denver, Colo., Physical Education) was next with 14 points, while Brady Burford (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Physical Education) finished with 13. The trio ofJessie Pernell (Sr., North Augusta, Ga., Physical Education), Antonio Levy (Jr., Chicago, Ill., Physical Education), and Shane Bosek (Sr., Lowry, Minn., Physical Education) were in double figures as well with 11 points each.
Pernell just missed a double-double with nine assists. Charles Knowles (Jr., Chicago, Ill., Physical Education) added nine points and Kevin Smith (Jr., Baltimore, Md., Physical Education) concluded the win with seven points.
WPU was 46.7% (14-for-30) from the perimeter and 77.3% (17-for-22) from the free-throw line.
Next Up: William Penn travels to Des Moines Wednesday to face Grand View in Heart of America Athletic Conference action at 7:30 p.m.
Story provided by Wade Steinlage
