Oskaloosa–The Statesmen men’s basketball team made a big statement Saturday as it dispatched previously-unbeaten Avila 108-72 in Heart of America Athletic Conference action.

William Penn (6-1, 2-0 Heart) went wire-to-wire in its highest-scoring game of the year.  The navy and gold led 10-2 just 1:51 into the matchup, but the Eagles (6-1, 1-1 Heart) managed to keep it close at 30-21 with 8:19 still left in the first half.

The hosts kept pushing, ending the stanza on a 10-3 run to lead 53-30 at halftime.  They never let up, staying up by at least 22 points for the last 20 minutes of action (high of 42 points).

The Statesmen dominated in nearly every category, including shooting (53.7{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b}-43.9{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b}) and rebounding (54-37).  WPU had six fewer turnovers (14-20), leading to an impressive 18-4 advantage in points off mistakes.

Even when the Statesmen struggled (10-for-25 at the line), they found success as they pulled down numerous missed attempts, both at the line and from the floor, en route to an 18-0 edge in second-chance points.

Antonio Levy (Jr., Chicago, Ill., Physical Education) paced WPU with 21 points, while six of his teammates also reached double digits.

Brady Burford (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Physical Education) and Dondre Alexander (Jr., Iowa City, Iowa, Physical Education) tallied 14 points each, while Charles Knowles (Jr., Chicago, Ill., Physical Education) and Josh Caldwell (Sr., Denver, Colo., Physical Education) added 13 points apiece.

Shane Bosek (Sr., Lowry, Minn., Physical Education) finished with 12 points, but it was Steven Roundtree (Sr., Jacksonville, Fla., Physical Education) who had the most balanced evening with a double-double of 11 points and 14 rebounds.  Roundtree stole three passes as well.

Kevin Smith (Jr., Baltimore, Md., Physical Education) dished out four assists in the win.

“With Avila’s undefeated record coming into the game, our guys were very focused,” Head Coach John Henry said.  “Coach Sandquist did a nice job with the scouting report, as he always does.  Our rebounding was key tonight, especially on free throw box-out situations.”

Next Up: William Penn remain in Oskaloosa next Friday, hosting Oak Hills Christian in non-conference play at 7 p.m.

Story provided by Wade Steinlage

Oskaloosa–Junior hitter Savanna Hartman (Morgan Hill, Calif., Psychology) and senior setter Leyra Jusino (Bayamon, P.R., General Biology) both notched postseason recognition as the 2015 all-Heart of America Athletic Conference volleyball teams were announced today.

Hartman and Jusino, who are both first-time honorees, were named to the 23-person honorable-mention list.  A total of 51 individuals garnered either first, second, or honorable-mention laurels.

Hartman paced William Penn (6-23, 1-10 Heart) with 254 kills (.156 attack pct.) in addition to 77 digs, 36 blocks, three aces, and two assists.  The junior reached double-figure kills on 13 occasions, highlighted by an 18-kill effort against Avila.

Jusino ‘captained’ the offense with 747 assists (7.3 assists/set).  She also managed 50 kills, 238 digs, 23 blocks, and eight aces.  The senior recorded a season-best 55 assists against Robert Morris (Ill.).  She was named Heart Setter of the Week on October 5.

Rachel Kater of MidAmerica Nazarene was named both Heart Player and Setter of the Year.  Jhessica Martins of Peru State claimed Attacker of the Year accolades, while Morgan Smith (Evangel) and Shannon Liewer (Peru State) shared the Libero of the Year award.  Freshman of the Year honors went to Cydney Newton of Avila.  MNU’s Kristin Steele and Molly Brewster were named Coach and Assistant Coach of the Year, respectively.

For the complete 2015 all-Heart team, go to http://www.haacsports.com/d/2015-16/2015{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b}20VB{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b}20All{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b}20Conf.pdf

Story provided by Wade Steinlage

Dutch wrestlers lose tight Iowa Conference opener

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Central College wrestling team gave No. 11 Coe College all it could handle Thursday night, but came up short in the upset bid, falling 19-18.

The Dutch (0-1, 0-1 conf.) and Kohawks (1-0, 1-0 conf.) were tied 18-18 after the completion of all 10 matches. The match went to the third tie-breaking criteria of total points scored not including falls or forfeits, where Coe had outpaced Central 44-42, to break the tie and give Coe the win.

Central competed Thursday night without returning All-American and third-ranked Matt Seabold (junior, Burlington) at 197 pounds, who was out for medical reasons.

Three straight wins to start the match catapulted Central to a 12-0 lead. CJ Pestano (sophomore, Torrance, Calif.) and Aaron Anderson (senior, Clarion, Iowa, Clarion-Goldfield HS) got it started with decisions at 125 pounds and 133 pounds, respectively. Sophomore Jahleel Vester (Oak Harbor, Wash.) punctuated the 12-0 run with a second period fall.

“If you’re going to compete with a team like Coe, you have to set the tempo early,” coach Eric Van Kley said. “Those three established an intensity level that we really needed as team in order to give ourselves a chance to win”

Vester took over as the starter at 141 as a freshman in 2014-15 and emerged once again from a crowded field this season.

“I think that Jahleel just had to figure out how could he could be, “ Van Kley said. “He’s realizing he can be pretty special. He’s just got to continue to commit to the process and making improvements.”

Central needed dramatic wins on the back end to stay in the match. At 184, freshman Austin Laabs (Guthrie Center) won 3-1 in overtime to keep the Dutch alive. Senior Jay Pike (Solon) followed that up by scoring a takedown with less than 10 seconds left in a 3-1 win.

“I think both of those guys are great examples of mental toughness and staying the course,’ Van Kley said. “Both of those matches were grinding and challenging matches. Austin and Jay kept a good head on the shoulders and won tough matches. I’m proud of their effort.”

The Dutch nearly pulled off their first road win against the Kohawks since 1990, but fell to the third tie-breaking criteria.

“Bottom line, every guy in our program is disappointed that we didn’t get the job done,” Van Kley said. “Our guys expect to be able to compete in those kind of environments. Our guys showed that they’re capable of it tonight.”

The Dutch have a short turnaround, as they hit the road to compete at the Augsburg Adidas Open in Minneapolis Saturday.

“We’ve got to get better,” Van Kley said. “They’re were a lot of opportunities tonight that we didn’t capitalize on. The great thing about our schedule is that we’re on our bus (Friday) at noon and we get another chance to compete. I think we’ve got a lot guys that like competing in big matches.”

Story provided by Joe Flaherty