Thu - 21 Feb
Written by Jim Ecker
Inch for inch, Antwain Strong is unquestionably one of the best NAIA basketball players in the country.
He proved it again Wednesday night.
Strong flirted with a triple-double with 12 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds as Mount Mercy whipped 16th-ranked William Penn, 92-84, in a key Heart of America Conference game at the Hennessey Recreation Center.
Strong, a 5-foot-11 senior, made some unbelievable jitterbug moves to the basket and had a string of sensational passes as the little Mustangs knocked off the towering Statesmen.
William Penn looked like a Big Ten team when it walked into the gym with talented players who measured 6-foot-11, 6-foot-9, 6-foot-9 and a pair of 6-foot-7 guys. Meanwhile, Mount Mercy's tallest player on the floor was only 6-foot-5.
Somehow, the Mustangs slayed the giants.
"I have a motto my cousin taught me when I was growing up," said Strong. "He always told me 'Heart over Height.' So as long as you have heart, that makes up for a lot of your height. And that's what we live by."
Strong is averaging 12.9 points, 6.4 assists and 5.2 rebounds. He ranks third in the country in assists and has neared a triple-double before, but Wednesday's performance kept the Mustangs in the hunt for a favorable seed in the Heart of America Conference tournament with two home games left in the regular season.
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