Oskaloosa, Iowa - Despite leading by as many as eight points in the first half, the Central Methodist men's basketball team's upset bid fell short against No. 3 William Penn, falling to the Statesmen by a score of 90-77 Thursday night in Oskaloosa, Iowa.
With the loss, Central moves to 9-13 overall and 6-11 in the Heart. William Penn, who has already claimed the regular-season conference title, improves to 19-1 and 17-1 in Heart action.
Both teams were evenly matched in the opening 14 minutes, as neither side led by more than three points. Tied at 33-33, Central posted an 8-0 scoring run over a two-minute span, taking a 41-33 lead with 4:20 remaining, highlighted by a three-point basket from Jimmie Washington Jr. The Statesmen closed the half on a 13-7 scoring run to trim Central's lead to just two points entering the locker room.
CMU opened the second half scoring six straight points, including eight of the first 10 to push their lead back out to eight. Central would remain out in front through the next nine minutes before the Statemen jumped out in front 62-60. Less than 20 seconds later, Chris Orozco provided an answer for the Eagles with a basket in the paint.
The turning point came in the following four minutes of game action, as William Penn went on a 14-4 scoring run to grab their largest lead of the game up to that point, leading 76-66. Central trimmed the lead to as few as three points, but could not complete the upset bid, ultimately falling 90-77.
Four of CMU's five starters reached double-figures, as Jonathan Brown led the offense with 18 points, shooting eight-of-14 from the field. Brown also added two three-point baskets and grabbed two rebounds and two assists. Marcus Anthony set a new career-high with 17 points along with two steals and a block.
Senior forward Fode Camara reached double-digits for the sixth straight game, scoring 16 points while shooting 60-percent from the field. Camara tied for the team lead with nine rebounds, nearly earning a double-double. Chandler Bevans rounded out the Eagles' double-digit scorers, collecting 13 points and matching Camara with nine rebounds in a little over 23 minutes of action.
Central kept pace with the No. 1 rebounding team in the nation, grabbing 42 rebounds compared to the Statesmen's 43. The Eagles won the battle on the offensive glass, finishing the evening with 19 rebounds, while William Penn grabbed 12.
William Penn did a majority of its damage from the three-point line, knocking down 37.5-percent of its three-point attempts. Central shot 21.7-percent from three and made only 14 trips to the charity stripe compared to 37 trips for the Statesmen.
CMU returns home for the final time this season to host Graceland University Saturday, Feb. 13 at 4:00 p.m. on senior day.
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