By Eric Montgomery | NAIA Media Coordinator

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – (Box Score) No. 1-seeded William Penn (Iowa) advanced to the second round of the 2017 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship with a 100-78 victory over No. 8-seeded Loyola (La.), Wednesday evening at Municipal Auditorium. The Statesmen will play No. 4-seeded Georgetown (Ky.), an 81-72 winner over (Park.), on Friday, March 17 at 2:15 p.m. CST

Torren Jones posted 24 points and a tournament-best 21 rebounds to lead the way for William Penn. Charles Knowles added 23 points and six rebounds, while Lionel Ellison tallied nine points, eight steals, four assists and three rebounds.

“We’ve been here since Monday, so I think with the build-up we were a little rusty and a little sloppy, but we got it going in the second half,” said William Penn head coach John Henry. “It was a great team win, the guys did a great job executing the scouting report, and we got a lot of guys into the game.”

William Penn (31-3) dominated the second half, shooting 23 of 41 (.561) from the field on the way to a 58-point performance after intermission. The Statesmen were also efficient at the free throw line, converting 16 of 19 attempts (.842) and posted 25 second chance points off of 29 offensive rebounds and a 57-31 overall rebounding advantage.

The first half was an even struggle through the first 12 minutes with eight ties and four lead changes. William Penn took the lead for good on a three-pointer by Jeremy Postell as part of an eight-point spurt for a 28-22 lead. Jones scored the final bucket of the half for the Statesmen, posting 13 points and 15 rebounds before the break.

The Statesmen pushed the lead into double digits to stay inside the opening three minutes of the second half. Knowles scored five-straight points, set up Brandon Trotter for a transition basket, and converted a trio of free throws for a 10-0 run and 19-point advantage. Loyola responded with a 10-2 stretch, but got no closer than 11 points the rest of the way.

Jalen Gray led the way for Loyola with 20 points, four assists and three rebounds. Tre’ Von Jasmine came off the bench to deliver 18 points and four rebounds, while Trey LaForge posted 10 points and four rebounds.

Loyola finished its season with a record of 22-10.

Game Notes:
William Penn – The Statesmen won in the second round for the second-straight season, its only two as part of NAIA Division I … William Penn won both the regular season and tournament titles in the Heart of America Athletic Conference for the second-consecutive campaign … William Penn reached the century mark for the 10th time this season and was the first in the national championship thus far … Jones, the Heart Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year, recorded a double-double for the 25th time this season, best in the NAIA … The 29 offensive rebounds was two off the season-high of 31, recorded against Iowa Wesleyan in November.

Loyola – The Wolfpack was making its first national championship appearance since 1946, dropping its opening round contest for the first time in three all-time trips … Gray scored in double figures for the 10th-straight game to conclude the season … Loyola allowed 100 points for just the second time this season, allowing 100 to Dalton State on Dec. 29 … Leading scorers Johnny Griffin Jr. and Nick Parker (14.5) were each held to nine points.