Pride defeat William Penn in conference opener 98-90

DUBUQUE, Iowa – A high-scoring affair that saw five lead changes ended with the Clarke University men's basketball team defeating William Penn University 98-90 for their third victory on the season.

After trailing by as much as 10 points at the 15:10 mark in the first half, the Pride battled to keep themselves within striking distance. With a combined 19 points in the first 20 minutes, Jake Layman and Biggie Luster led the Pride offense that went into the break down six at 49-43.

With 17:19 to play in the game, the Statesmen were ahead 56-51, but CU went on a 12-4 run over the next four minutes to take their first lead at 63-60.

Both teams would trade baskets over the next several minutes and the game evened up at 69 apiece with 9:38 left. The Pride followed up their 12-4 run with a 19-1 run, led by Rob Chaney's nine points in a six-minute span that vaulted the Pride up 88-70, CU's largest lead of the evening with 3:28 to play.

Not going away quietly, the Statesmen went on a 16-6 run to pull within six points, trailing 94-88 with 23 seconds remaining, but it wouldn't be enough as they dropped their fourth straight game.

Luster's 25 points on 8-14 (57.1%) from the floor and his nine rebounds were pivotal offensively for the Pride. Chaney's bench spark yielded 19 points in 27 minutes, with nine of his points coming from the free-throw line.

It was a balanced scoring day for Clarke with six players total reaching double-figures including Luster's 25 points on 8-14 (57.1%) from the floor and his nine rebounds. Chaney's bench spark yielded 19 points in 27 minutes, with nine of his points coming from the free-throw line.

The other Pride scorers in double-figures include Jacob Fierst scoring 14 points in 25 minutes of work, Chris Burnell's 13 points including seven from the charity stripe, Daquon Lewis finishing with 12 points, and Layman with 11 points.

The Statesmen had a pair of 16-point scorers as Shug Sneed and Jazz Farrell each had strong shooting performances with Sneed shooting 7-7 (100%) and Farrell 5-10 (50%).

Both teams shot well from the field, but William Penn shot an impressive 33-65 (50.8%) compared to Clarke's 27-62 (43.5%). Shooting 11-21 (52.3%) from three-point range, it was Clarke's most efficient three-point shooting display up to this point in the season.

The Pride will next play on Nov. 15th at home against Central Methodist University, beginning at 7:30 P.M. CST.