Millersville Game Notes
West Chester Game Notes
WEST CHESTER, Pa. - West Chester University hosts Millersville University in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference quarterfinal round matchup inside Hollinger Field House at 7 p.m. Tuesday evening.
West Chester (19-7) is the two-seed in the postseason tournament and received a first-round bye while Millersville (19-10) defeated Shippensburg in the first round on Saturday night. All the action can be heard online at www.wche1520.com.
Tickets are &7 for adults and $2 for students. Students from PSAC member institutions are admitted free of charge along with a valid ID. No comp tickets will be available. Only PSAC passes will be honored.
JOURNEY BACK TO TITLE GAME BEGINS TUESDAY
West Chester University begins its quest to return to the PSAC Championship Game Tuesday night with a home contest against third-seeded Millersville. The second-seeded Golden Rams received a first-round bye as result of their second-place finish in the regular-season standings of the Eastern Division. West Chester has won 14 of its last 17 contests. However, a 93-82 setback at arch-rival Cheyney was its most recent outing. The Rams will look to put that performance behind them as they try to move on to the PSAC semifinals this weekend. WCU is making its 18th appearance in the PSAC Tournament since the tournament format was adopted in 1981 and third in head coach Damien Blair’s five-year tenure at his alma mater. West Chester has won one PSAC Championship – in 1959 – before a tournament was played. The Golden Rams are 11-17 all-time in the PSAC postseason tournament and 2-2 in two previous trips under Blair.
SCOUTING MILLERSVILLE
This is head coach Fred Thompson’s ninth trip to the PSAC Tournament. Third-seeded Millersville defeated sixth-seeded Shippensburg Saturday evening, 79-69, to advance to tonight’s quarterfinal. The Marauders are 19-15 all-time in the PSAC Tournament with five championships in the tournament era (1981-present). Among all PSAC schools, Millersville ranks second only to Cheyney with 10 PSAC Championships. Thompson has made five consecutive appearances with at least one win and boasts a 10-5 tournament record.
Anthony Coleman’s 36 points Saturday against Shippensburg was the most points ever scored by a Marauder in a PSAC Tournament game and the most by a Marauder in a regulation game since Gerald Redding’s 36 in 2003. Coleman scored 30 in the second half alone. In two games last week (both against Shippensburg), Coleman scored 61 points on 65.5 percent shooting from the field and 22-of-26 shooting from the free throw line. He now has three 30-point games in his career.
OLDEST PROGRAMS IN THE PSAC RENEW OLDEST RIVALRY
West Chester University and Millersville University are two of the oldest intercollegiate men’s basketball programs in the country currently competing at the Division II level and the two oldest programs in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. West Chester began playing basketball in 1897 and is in its 116th season of college basketball. West Chester and Millersville, currently in its 112th season, first met on the college hardwood back in 1903 – a 30-10 victory by the Golden Rams. Since then, the two state schools have battled it out 188 times. West Chester and Millersville are also the only two PSAC institutions who have eclipsed 1,300 career victories.
PAIR OF GOLDEN RAMS NAMED ALL-PSAC EAST
Senior guard Jon Breeden and sophomore forward Corey Blake were named to the PSAC all-league squad it was announced by the conference Tuesday morning. Breeden made his second straight appearance on the first-team All-PSAC East squad while Blake was named to the second team unit, making his initial appearance on the all-league team. Breeden and Blake are two of the Golden Rams who are averaging better than 10.0 points per game. Breeden ranks second in the conference in free-throw percentage and third in steals per game. He is the point guard and the guy to which head coach Damien Blair entrusts his offense. Blake ranks ninth in the PSAC in rebounding and is averaging 11.9 ppg and 9.3 rebounds per game over West Chester’s last seven games.
FOUR PLAYERS AVERAGING IN DOUBLE FIGURES
West Chester University boasts four of its five starters averaging in double figures in points per game this winter. Corey Blake currently leads the squad in that category with 11.6 points per game. Troy Hockaday is second with a 10.5 ppg average while Jon Breeden is close behind at 10.4 ppg. Carl Johnson rounds out the foursome with a 10.2 ppg average.
West Chester is second in the PSAC in scoring, averaging 75.8 ppg and have scored more than 80 points in 6 of its last 10 outings, including back-to-back 96-point efforts. The Golden Rams rank sixth in the league in scoring margin, averaging +5.2 for the season. West Chester is second in the league in turnover margin as well, creating close to four more turnovers per game than its opponent.
