The William Penn men’s basketball team will play for a national championship this evening. The Statesmen outscored Grace College of Indiana 43-22 in the second half to post a 79-58 victory in the NAIA semifinals in Point Lookout, Missouri.

Willian Penn coach John Henry on his postgame show on KBOE in Oskaloosa said he thought their defense in the second half was the best they have played all year. The Statesmen take a 34-1 record into the title game.

“I was really emotional the other night after we won because we were going to the final four, this hasn’t set in,” Henry says. “This is gonna take a couple of hours for me to realize that we are really doing this. We are in the national championship. The very worst we can do is national champion or runner-up, are you kidding me?”