Cedarville overcomes turnovers to blow out Wilberforce, win 98-73

By: Julia Swain

In a game riddled with turnovers and a poor three-point percentage, the Cedarville Men’s Basketball team prevailed with a 98-73 win over the winless Wilberforce University. 

Despite missing their first 10 three-pointers, and finishing 5-20 (25 percent) overall, the Yellow Jackets found success in other areas of the floor, finishing with 50 points in the paint. The Bulldogs, however, had a hard time recovering from their 25 turnovers. 

Head coach Pat Estepp still saw room for improvement despite the blow-out win. 

“I think 16 turnovers is too many for us,” Estepp said. “We’re averaging nine a game, so we’ve got to do a better job of taking care of the ball.”

Estepp also commented on the team’s ball movement. 

“I thought we maybe overpass a little bit at times, but we did a good job,” Estepp said. 

One of the key players of the night was junior Jayvon Maughmer, who contributed 22 points, four rebounds and three assists to the Yellow Jackets’ much-needed win to get them back on track following a loss last Saturday. Maughmer attributed the team’s success to the stellar play of the bench. 

“Forty six points off the bench was big for us,” Maughmer said. “We need that every night from these guys.”

These bench players included freshmen Ethan Sellers and Kyle Thomas, who contributed a combined 25 points, six rebounds, and three assists. Another starter who contributed greatly to the winning cause was graduate student Chris Rogers (10 points, five assists). 

One thing of note was the coaching staff’s and the players’ consistent pursuit of excellence. Despite having a large lead for the majority of the game, the team still found ways to improve throughout, and never settled on being just good enough to win. This is a mindset that the Yellow Jackets will want to continue to develop as the season progresses, as they can use this strong mentality to produce wins in tough situations. 

The Yellow Jackets will be looking to build on their momentum when they visit Purdue Northwest on Saturday.

Julia Swain is a freshman journalism student. She likes listening to Taylor Swift, watching sports and playing sand volleyball in her free time.