Fayette, Mo. - Behind a career-high 35 points from Jonathan Brown the (RV) Central Methodist men's basketball team knocked off No. 3 nationally ranked William Penn 79-73 Wednesday night inside Puckett Field House.
With the victory, Central improves to 10-2 and 2-1 in conference play, while the Statesmen suffer their first loss of the season, dropping to 11-1 and 3-1 in the Heart.
Despite the score remaining close, Central's offense and stifling defense flustered a Penn offense that, on average, scored 93 points/game.
CMU opened the second half on a 7-2 scoring run, taking a 41-32 lead in the first 1:06 of the second. William Penn tied the ballgame on two different occasions over the next 10 minutes, and ultimately grabbed a 56-55 lead. However, two free throws from Brown put Central back out in front with 9:33 remaining.
A three-point basket from Isaiah May pushed the Eagles' lead to four, and Central's offense continued to cruise late in the second. CMU led by as many as 12 points with under two minutes remaining. Despite William Penn closing the gap in the final moments, Central held on to earn the upset victory.
Brown had his best outing as an Eagle, dropping a new career-high 35 points on 10-of-21 shooting from the field including 12-of-14 from the charity stripe. He also grabbed eight rebounds and dished out four assists in 38 minutes of action.
Fode Camara joined Brown in double figures with 10 points along with nine rebounds. Dwayne McClendon nearly cracked double-digits with nine points paired with seven rebounds.
Thomas Sowoolu was a key contributor in 26 minutes of action. The London, England native scored eight points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and tallied two blocks and a steal. Tim Cameron joined Sowoolu on the glass with 10 boards. He also dished out four assists, recorded four steals, and a block.
The game-changer for both sides was the charity stripe, as Central converted 19-of-25 free throw attempts for 76-percent. William Penn finished the evening 13-of-24 for just 54.2-percent.
CMU's defense held William Penn to just 26.1-percent shooting from three and forced 16 turnovers on 11 steals.
The Eagles continue conference action against Missouri Valley College Saturday, Dec. 11 at 4:00 p.m. in Marshall, Mo.
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