Cedar Rapids–The Statesmen and the Mustangs faced off in some memorable meetings in the old Midwest Collegiate Conference and it appears that tradition is going to continue in the Heart of America Athletic Conference as William Penn defeated Mount Mercy on the road 94-87 Wednesday.
#4 WPU (15-2, 11-2 Heart) outshot the Mustangs (10-7, 9-5 Heart) 53.4%-40.6% and had five players in double figures and it still was almost not enough to end MMU’s three-game winning streak. William Penn, which has now claimed four straight, finished the season sweep of Mount Mercy to stay one game up on Grand View in the league race.
The visitors trailed just once at 12-11, and despite holding a lead of 11 midway through the second half, they were not out of the woods until the final ticks.
The Statesmen hit 59.4% of their first-half attempts to own a 54-48 advantage. The margin grew to double digits inside of 10 minutes to go, but the Mustangs rallied to knot things up at 74-74 with 5:51 remaining. Fortunately, WPU had an answer by ripping off seven in a row. The squad then kept the hosts at bay in the waning minutes to record the victory.
The Statesmen held a 37-36 edge in rebounding, but were outscored 9-5 in second-chance points. On the flip side, the team committed two more turnovers (18-16) than MMU, yet managed a 10-0 mark in points off turnovers. The charity stripe was not kind to William Penn as it went 22-for-36, while Mount Mercy stayed in the contest at 26-for-29.
Jarvis Haywood (Sr., Charlotte, N.C., Business Management) guided the victors with 23 points, including three three-pointers and an 8-for-9 effort at the line. William Penn finished 10-for-17 from deep overall.
An injury in late November slowed down Kevin Smith (Sr., Baltimore, Md., Physical Education) after a great start to his senior year, but Wednesday he showed that he might be back to his old self with 16 points and seven assists.
Charles Knowles (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Physical Education) was next with 15 points, while Lionel Ellison (Sr., New Orleans, La., Kinesiology) managed 14 points and three blocks.
Torren Jones (Sr., Chandler, Ariz., Sociology) posted a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Corbin Medley (Jr., Rogersville, Mo., General Accounting) contributed six points Wednesday.
“Winning at Mount Mercy is a great accomplishment; that is a tough place to win,” Head Coach John Henry said. “Our backcourt was special again tonight with Lionel, Jarvis, and Kevin all playing really well.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Fayette, Mo. Saturday to face Central Methodist in Heart action at 4 p.m.
Story provided by Wade Steinlage
