Box Score KUTZTOWN, Pa. – It was pandemonium inside Keystone Arena as a packed crowd was in for a long afternoon to watch the West Chester Golden Rams get the best of host Kutztown in six periods of non-stop action, 97-96, Saturday afternoon.
Thomas White (Chester, Pa./Penn Wood) posted a career-high 20 points, shooting 8-for-9 from inside the paint, including half of this points throughout the overtime periods. He also grabbed nine rebounds in the conference win.
Mike Wilson (Philadelphia, Pa./Martian Luther King) shot an impressive 60-percent from beyond the arc for 18 points – all in regulation.
The Golden Rams (10-10, 9-7 PSAC) trailed 39-31 in the first half, after allowing 12 points off eight turnovers in the first half. West Chester got back into the game thanks to an 8-0 run, ending with a one-handed throw down from
Avery Brown (Mt. Laurel, N.J./Lenape) to knot things up at 23 apiece. The Golden Bears battled back with an 8-0 run of their own to go up by as many as 10 in the second half.
In the second half it looked as though Kutztown (13-9, 10-6) had the game and tempo all under control. West Chester finally took the lead on a layup by
Cory Blake (West Chester, Pa./Rustin), a part of his 13 points and nine rebound games, and would increase the lead with a free-throw made by Brown to go up by two with 18 seconds to go. The Golden Bears' Ethan Ridgeway drove the lane for the tying bucket to force overtime and start the wild ride that would become four extra periods.Â
Parrish Grant (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter) also had 13 points, including crucial 3-pointers down the stretch to keep the game going.
Matt Wiseley (Emmaus, Pa./Emmaus) carried four fouls with him into the four overtimes, after committing his fourth with 51 seconds left in regulation. He would record his fifth double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds, to go with five assists.
Ben Mingledough (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) added nine points, six rebounds, three steals and an assist to put pressure on the Golden Bears defense throughout the game.
In to the first overtime, Kutztown held a 70-69 lead when Blake made one of two free throws to push the game into a second overtime. Kutztown went the rest of the way without forward Josh Johnson, after he recorded his fifth foul in the closing minutes of the first overtime. Johnson finished the day with 10 rebounds and nine points – one point short of a double-double.
Kutztown pushed on, going up by five thanks to a 3-pointer from Ethan Ridgeway, who shot 50-percent for the game. Mingledough scored back-to-back baskets to set up Parrish Grant for a 3-pointer to tie the game at 78-78. Tyler Brooks put the Golden Bears back up by two. But, Blake matched him, making both free throws and sending the game into triple overtime.
West Chester opened up a four-point lead, 86-82, in the third OT. The Golden Bears returned the favor with a 5-0 run to take a one-point lead. It would hold for a couple seconds until Grant was fouled. He missed the first free throw, but made the second to send the game into a fourth overtime.
This time, Wiseley hit the crucial 3-pointer to put the Golden Rams up by four and would hit two free throws in the closing seconds to finally win the marathon. The four-OT game was the longest West Chester had played since winning a five-overtime game against Wilmington in 2009.
Golden Bears' Tynell Fortune ended with a team-high 21 points, to go with seven rebounds and three assists in the overtime loss. Austin Beidelman followed with 17 points in the loss. Brookes added 14 and Ridgeway scored 13 to round out the double-figures.
West Chester will now head back home for five of its last six games. The Golden Rams' first will be against PSAC rival Lock Haven this Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
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