William Penn University recently issued the following announcement.
A career night from Karmari Newman (Sr., Detroit, Mich., Digital Communications) helped lift the William Penn men's basketball team to their first victory over a ranked opponent as the Statesmen moved to 4-0 on the young season with a victory over the #25 Indiana-South Bend Titans.
Newman came hot out of the gates, accounting for the game's first five points as he hit both his first jumper and his first three in the first minute of the game. Reyhan Cobb (Jr., Atlanta, Ga., Sociology) added a dunk, but then it was all Newman again. He added five more points in a row to give the Statesmen an early 12-4 lead.
The offense struggled at times around the midway point of the half, but Frederick Jackson (Sr., Killeen, Texas, Interdisciplinary Studies) put in a couple layups to help keep the navy and gold on top, while Newman buried two more triples.
After Kevion Blaylock (Sr., Houston, Texas, Information Technology) slammed one home to give the Statesmen a 29-19 lead, the offense suffered a scoring drought of almost three minutes, allowing the Titans to claim their first lead of the game. Malik Edwards (Fr., Drexel Hill, Pa., Business Management) ended the dry spell with a trifecta, but the Statesmen struggled to jump back on top. They finally reclaimed the advantage after a run of 11 combined points from Newman and Brandon Doss (Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio, Sports Management). Newman nailed another one from downtown with only three seconds left in the half, giving him 25 points in the half and giving the Statesmen a 52-46 lead.
After the first 20 minutes of play, the Statesmen were shooting 51.2% from the field, including a robust 45% mark from beyond the arc. The navy and gold also out-rebounded their hosts 21-14 during the half.
The Statesmen traded blows with the Titans to open up the second half as Cobb contributed two baskets in the opening minutes to help keep the Statesmen ahead.
Newman continued his hot shooting in the second half, hitting another triple and getting a layup to go to put the Statesmen up by 14, their largest lead of the night. Chanze Cruesoe (So., St. Louis, Mo., Business Management) got in on the scoring fun, earning five consecutive William Penn points as they extended their lead ever so slightly to 14.
After Blaylock put the navy and gold ahead by 17 with a layup, the Statesmen seemed well on their way to an easy win. But the Titans battled back furiously, playing strong defense and chipping into the lead until finally tying the score at 90 with under three minutes to play. The hosts took the lead with only a minute and 46 seconds left to play, and held a two point advantage with only 20 seconds left on the clock.
Newman, completely unphased, pulled up one more time and sank another one from deep, this one a game-winner that put the Statesmen ahead by their winning margin of 98-97.
Newman set a new career high mark with 39 points, including 10/16 from downtown. Blaylock turned in another double, totaling 19 points and 11 rebounds. Cobb contributed eight points and eight boards, while Jackson turned in a strong performance off the bench with 10 points and seven rebounds.
"Very proud of this win," said Head Coach John Henry. "We overcame a lot for this victory."
Original source can be found here.
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