CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Sixth-seeded William Penn built an 18-point second-half lead, then held on to defeat third-seeded Mount Mercy, 88-85, in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Midwest Collegiate Conference Men's Basketball Tournament on Wednesday at Hennessey Recreation Center.
The two teams were nearly even statistically except for one category -- rebounding. And that was the difference in the game for the Statesmen (21-10), who held a 46-30 advantage on the glass. Twenty-two of those boards came at the offensive end, which led to a 2-to-1 advantage over the Mustangs (22-9) in second-chance points.
Mount Mercy had its largest lead of the game, 28-20, with 8:55 remaining in the first half before turnovers starting taking a toll on the Mustangs. The Statesmen forced 14 miscues by Mount Mercy in the opening period and outscored the Mustangs, 29-10, over the final eight minutes of the half to take a 49-38 advantage into the break.
William Penn kept it rolling in the second half and led, 65-47, with 13:47 to go. But Mount Mercy chipped away at that deficit, getting it to single digits on junior forward Josh Watznauer's 3-point play with 1:58 on the clock. He added another bucket on Mount Mercy's next possession and suddenly the Statesmen lead was only five with 1:12 remaining.
Following a William Penn turnover, freshman forward Chad Underwood's bucket in the lane made it a one-possession game, 86-83, with 32 seconds to go. After the Statesmen missed the front end of a 1-and-1, junior guard James Henderson had a chance to bring the Mustangs within one, but missed a pair of free throws with 16 seconds left.
Mount Mercy rebounded the second miss and after a timeout, got a layup from senior forward Keith Kuenstling with nine seconds to play to make it a one-point game, 86-85. Kris Miller was fouled by the Mustangs and nailed two free throws to put the Statesmen up three again, 88-85. With nine seconds to go, Mount Mercy had a final look to tie it, but senior guard Jake Carey's long three from the top of the key didn't go and William Penn survived.
The Mustangs, who were 27th in the final NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Top 25 Coaches' Poll, still have a very slim chance of earning an at-large bid to the NAIA national tournament. Mount Mercy will now sit and wait to see if things somehow fall into place, or if the team will end the season with the second-most victories in school history.
Kuenstling paced the Mustangs with 22 points. Watznauer and Underwood added 16 points apiece, while Henderson joined them in double digits with 10. Kuenstling and Watznauer each grabbed eight rebounds, and Henderson dished out seven assists.
Caleb Stout poured in a game-high 26 points on 12-of-15 shooting from the field. Miller finished with 21 points, Jesse DeGeest 16. Stout also pulled down nine rebounds, DeGeest eight, and Miller seven. Miller's five steals were a game-high.
William Penn will face second-seeded Viterbo (Wis.) (14-14) in a Friday night semifinal at 7:00 p.m. in La Crosse, Wis. The V-Hawks pounded seventh-seeded Waldorf, 87-56. In other quarterfinal action on Wednesday, it was top-seeded Grand View routing ninth-seeded Iowa Wesleyan, 80-59, and fourth-seeded Ashford topping fifth-seeded St. Ambrose, 79-72. The Vikings (23-7) host the Saints (20-11) on Friday. The MCC title game is slated for Sunday at 6:00 p.m.
