Box Score
WEST CHESTER, Pa. – Senior co-captain Eli Daniel made a driving layup and sank his foul shot with four seconds left of a tie game to give host West Chester University a wild and wacky 52-49 come-from-behind victory over visiting Philadelphia University Tuesday evening inside Hollinger Field House.
West Chester (4-1) led just once in the game (7-5, six minutes into the contest) before Miguel Bocachia drained a pair of foul shots with 49 seconds left in the game to give the Golden Rams a 49-48 advantage. Ola Sasona hit one of two free throws for Philadelphia University (2-3) with 32 seconds left to knot things up at 49-apiece.
Daniel rebounded Sasona’s miss of the second free throw, and West Chester held the ball for the final shot. Daniel got the ball on the far wing with seven seconds left and drove into the middle of the lane where he laid in the game-winner while being fouled.
PhilaU led by as many as 16 early on in the second half, but still maintained a 10-point edge with under seven minutes to play. The Golden Rams closed out the game on an 18-5 run to cap the stunning comeback.
Bocachia registered all eight of his points on the night during that run, including a pair of 3-pointers that ignited some energy behind the Golden Rams’ surge. He grabbed a clutch offensive rebound that led to his two foul shots with 49 ticks remaining, which gave the Rams their first lead since the early part of the game.
West Chester struggled all night from the field, shooting just 30.6 percent (19-for-62). However, the shots started falling in the final seven minutes of the game and the momentum shifted instantaneously.
Philadelphia University shot 42.1 percent from the floor. However, West Chester’s in-your-face defense forced 29 turnovers from the Rams and limited the visitor’s to just 38 field goal attempts on the night – as compared to West Chester’s 68 shots.
Lance McDowell finished with a team-high 13 points and eight rebounds. He added four steals and a pair of blocked shots to his totals as well. Shannon Givens scored seven points and dished out seven assists.
McDowell drew the unenviable task of guarding PhilaU’s 7-foot center, Temi Adebayo, who finished with five blocked shots, but just four rebounds. McDowell frustrated the Adebayo all night down low. Adebayo finished with eight points, four of those coming from the foul line.
The game also marked the return of former West Chester University head coach Dick DeLaney to Hollinger Field House. Now an assistant on Herb Magee’s staff at PhilaU, DeLaney retired from head coaching three years ago as the Golden Rams’ all-time winningest basketball mentor with 370 career wins.
West Chester returns to Hollinger Field House on Sunday for another non-league tilt with Goldey-Beacom at 3 p.m.
