Mount Mercy University - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

No. 15 Mustangs edged by No. 11 Saints

The Mount Mercy men's basketball team squandered a 17-point lead Sunday and lost to Saint Francis of Illinois, 94-92, in a battle of NAIA powers at the Hennessey Recreation Center.

Mount Mercy (5-2) is ranked No. 15 in the NAIA national poll and Saint Francis (6-0) is ranked No. 11.

The Mustangs took a 65-48 lead with 17:01 left on a 3-pointer by Tre Wagner, but the Saints staged a furious rally and surged into an 84-84 deadlock with 4:51 remaining.

Alex Houston tied the game for Mount Mercy, 92-92, on a layup with 1:12 left, but the Mustangs did not score again.

Jens Kennedy gave Saint Francis a 94-92 lead with 13 seconds left with a jump shot. Mount Mercy called two timeouts in the final seconds, but Wagner missed a 3-pointer with one second left that could have won the game.

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Mount Mercy women trim William Penn

CLINTON - Alisa Weiland and Latasha Harmon scored 16 points apiece Saturday afternoon as Mount Mercy clipped William Penn, 69-63, in a tournament at the Kehl Arena in Clinton.

Makenzie Zeitler collected a double-double for the Mustangs (3-4) with 10 points and 14 rebounds. Jakaila Jordan also scored 10 points for Mount Mercy.

Kadejah Young scored 16 points for William Penn (3-4).

WILLIAM PENN (63): Phills 4 2-2 10, Spinner 4 2-3 10, Duckworth 0 0-0 0, Young 6 1-2 16, Roper 0 0-0 0, Dixon 0 0-0 0, Smith 4 2-3 11, Johnson 0 0-0 0, Santi 0 1-2 1, Griffis 0 0-0 0, Nwagbaraocha 5 2-3 12, Peterzelka 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 11-17 63.

MOUNT MERCY (69): Lakin 0 0-0 0, Weiland 7 0-0 16, Jordan 3 4-5 10, Sexton 1 1-2 4, Harmon 3 10-12 16, Zeitler 3 4-5 10, Thompson 2 0-0 4, Dolan 2 0-0 5, Lehman 1 2-2 4. Totals 22 21-26 69.

Halftime - Mount Mercy 34, William Penn 28. 3-point goals - William Penn 4 (Young 3, Smith 1), Mount Mercy 4 (Weiland 2, Sexton 1, Dolan 1).

Anderson grabs 19 boards for Mustangs

Jake Anderson seemed a little surprised Saturday when a reporter wanted to interview him after Mount Mercy rolled by Oak Hills Christian College, 103-38, in a mismatch at the Hennessey Recreation Center.

Then Anderson was shown a copy of the final boxscore.

"What? I had 19 rebounds?," he exclaimed. "That's crazy."

The 6-foot-6 sophomore from Mexico, Mo., grabbed 10 offensive rebounds and nine defensive caroms in the game. He also scored 12 points in his first extensive action of the year.

There were some extenuating circumstances that contributed to Anderson's performance. First of all, Oak Hills is not very good (a 1-8 record) and not very big.

Secondly, all of the returning players from last year's team at Mount Mercy have to miss five games this season due to an infraction of school rules that occurred at the NAIA national tournament last March. In addition, a few of the Mustangs are nursing injuries and did not play Saturday.

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Mount Mercy women veto Governors

CHICAGO - Makenzie Zeitler collected a big double-double Saturday with 21 points and 13 rebounds as the Mount Mercy women's basketball team held off Governors State, 73-68, in Chicago.

Zeitler also contributed three assists and two steals as the Mustangs raised their record to 2-3.

Mount Mercy took a 52-38 lead into the fourth quarter, but Governors State poured in 30 points in the final 10-minute stanza to make it tight.

Governors State got progressively better on offense during the game with four points in the first quarter, 14 points in the second quarter, 20 points in the third quarter and a whopping 30 points in the fourth quarter.

Jakaila Jordan netted 16 points for Mount Mercy and had four steals.

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