Since joining the Heart Conference in 2020, the Park University men's basketball team had yet to take down the William Penn Statesmen in any of their six matchups. That streak finally ended on Saturday afternoon when the Pirates completed a massive fourteen point comeback in the final seven minutes of play to finally conquer William Penn 84-81.
Securing this game boosted the Pirates season record back to .500 at 4-4, and they now are 3-1 in the early goings of conference play. On the other side, the Statesmen lost only their second game of the season, moving to 6-2 overall. This was the first conference loss for William Penn, as they now sit at 3-1.
The Statesmen got out to a double digit lead very early in the first half, a theme that would stay consistent until the before mentioned comeback started. Going into the first media timeout, William Penn already had a 14-4 advantage after utilizing the fastbreak to much success. Park would cut the lead down to three with a three pointer by Tyler Burrows and a couple baskets by Jacob Barnett, but the Statesmen would stretch the lead back to nine shortly after. The first half lead would get as large as eleven before Jasigha Barnes knocked down a midrange jumper and a pair of free throws to lower the deficit for the Pirates to 45-37 headed into halftime.
Once the second half got underway, the Pirates would rely on their defensive effort to keep the score within striking distance. This defense was highlighted by a couple well timed blocks from Tristan McRoberts and Barnes. However, the Statesmen went up 74-60 with only 7:45 remaining in the game after Isaac Hoberecht hit from deep.
Then, the comeback started. Park had worked their way into the bonus by this point, and that would prove crucial over the next stretch of action. Barnett and Burrows both hit a pair of charity shots to cut the lead to ten points. Next, Shawndale Ross got involved in the action with a backdoor cut layup and a shot from deep. Later on, Ross and Barnett both knocked down three pointers to cut the Statesmen lead to a single point with 3:21 to go. It was soon after that the dam finally burst. Barnett hit a short jumper with 2:28 to give Park their first lead of the game at 79-78. Right after, Ross picked the Statesmen passing lane and took the steal coast to coast for the bucket. William Penn failed to battle back and Park made their free throws down the stretch to walk away with what may become a very important win as the season plays out.
Notables
The highlight play of the game for the Pirates was a thunderous block by Jaden Robinson when he jumped high enough to have his head by the rim, as he sent the ball spiraling behind the Pirate bench.
The Pirates used the three point shot to great effect in this game, outshooting the Statesmen from behind the arc 40.0% compared to 23.8%. They were also better at the free throw line, making 76% of their shots from that spot versus 68% for William Penn.
The Pirates also got to the line more often than the Statesmen. The six point differential there proved to matter more than the fact that the Statesmen picked up nineteen second chance points and fourteen offensive rebounds.
Neither team got a lot of production from the fast break, with only six cumulative points coming from the push.
Barnett led the Pirates with 24 points and went 11-12 from the free throw line. Park had five players with double digit points, and bench scoring proved very important, being responsible for 32 points.
Christian Bradford had a monster day on the boards with 18 total rebounds and seven offensive rebounds.
The Pirates totaled five blocks and seven steals, with many of these coming during the comeback stretch when the Pirates employed the press defense to stifle the Statesmen offense.
Park will make the short drive on Tuesday evening to play the Midamerica Nazarene Pioneers at 7:30 p.m. The Pioneers currently hold a 3-4 record. WATCH HERE
Box Score
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