[Men's Basketball] Late rally isn’t enough at Penn

OSKALOOSA, Iowa -- Mount Mercy rallied late in each half, but when it was all over, Taylor Stoutner and William Penn held on for a 91-85 victory over the 25th-ranked Mustangs in a critical Midwest Collegiate Conference men's basketball showdown on Saturday at the Penn Gymnasium.

Mount Mercy (16-7, 7-5 MCC) came in looking for its third straight win at the Penn Gym, having won the last two meetings there by nearly 20 points per game. But things didn't start off too well for the Mustangs, who watched the Statesmen (13-11, 8-4 MCC) take an 18-1 lead less than five minutes into the game.

Mount Mercy outscored William Penn, 33-14, from there to take a 34-32 lead at intermission. The Statesmen managed to regain the lead after the break, holding a 10-point advantage on three occassions in the second half, the last time coming with a little more than two minutes left to play.

The Mustangs wouldn't go without a fight, going on a 10-0 run to tie the game at 85-85 with 44 seconds to go on back-to-back 3-pointers by freshman guard Jake Misener. From there, William Penn would closed it out by going 6-of-8 at the free throw line and holding Mount Mercy scoreless down the stretch.

Junior forward Troy Peter had his best game yet as a Mustang, scoring 21 points to go with eight of Mount Mercy's season-high 18 steals. Junior forward Chad Underwood scored 16 points. Senior forward Sam Kenyi had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds and junior forward Alex Coleman finished with 10 points and six boards.

Stoutner was 10-of-22 from 3-point range to set a school record for the Statesmen. He didn't even attempt a shot inside the arc but made both of his free throws during a 32-point effort. Keith Steffeck scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Blake Walker nearly had a triple-double with 13 points, 11 boards and nine assists. Alan Douglas put up 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

Mount Mercy needs to win at Ashford on Wednesday to stay in the MCC title race. The Mustangs and Saints (16-8, 8-4 MCC) square off at 7:30 p.m. at Kehl Arena in Clinton.