OSKALOOSA, Iowa -- William Penn built a 13-point halftime lead and withstood a furious Bellevue University second half rally as the Statesmen topped the Bruins, 72-69, in non-conference men's basketball action on Friday evening.
William Penn built what appeared to be a commanding 45-32 lead by intermission but BU used a 10-2 run out of the halftime break to pull within five points at 47-42, prompting William Penn to use at time out at the 16:42 mark.
As the half wore on it became apparent that the Bruins would be making a game of things. Chris Ashanti canned a three with 12:02 to play and Carl Robinson (4 points) made a free throw on the next possession to pull BU within a point at 56-55 with 11:38 remaining.
Things would remain tight the rest of the way with Bellevue taking their first lead with 3:42 to play on a three by Nicolus Guzman (8 points), 67-66. The teams traded leads from the with William Penn taking back the lead for the final time of the night on a basket with 2:59 remaining. Bellevue had numerous chances from there but just couldn't get over the hump.
Brady Burford made a pair of free throws with just 16 seconds on the clock to extend the Statesmen lead to 72-69. Ashanti's three-point try to close the game was no good and William Penn pulled in the rebound to secure the victory.
Marquis Aaron posted his second double-double of the season, finishing the night with 18 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Bruins in both categories. Bellevue also received double figure scoring efforts from Chris Ashanti (12) and TeShon Burton (11).
It was a rough night from the Bruins shooting the ball, hitting on just 32.3 percent of their field goal attempts and 22.7 of their 22 attempts from beyond the arc. Good free throw shooting kept them in the game as BU hit on 22-of-31 tried from the charity stripe. Conversely, the Bellevue defense held a potent William Penn offense in check, forcing the Statesmen into a 38.5 percent shooting effort and just 26.9 shooting from deep.
Bellevue (4-2) travels to Denver, Colo. next weekend for a pair of games at the Johnson & Wales Classic. The Bruins take on Northern New Mexico on Friday, Nov. 20 at 2 p.m. and battle hosts JWU on Saturday, Nov. 21 at 8 p.m.