CHESTER, Pa. - Looking to start the season off with a victory, the West Chester University men's basketball team hosted NCAA Division III opponent Wesley College on Saturday inside the Schwartz Center on the campus of Widener University in neighboring Chester, Pa. The Golden Rams will be calling the Schwartz Center home for the next few weeks as the team's actual home court – Hollinger Field House – is wrapping up the final stages of its renovation.
 
Despite being down 40-37 after the first half, the Golden Rams were able to hold the Wolverines to just 30% shooting in the second half which led to a 45-29 scoring advantage for the home team over the final 20 minutes. West Chester's increased defensive intensity paired with a 13-point second half by junior Jackson Hyland (Avondale, Pa./Kennett) would propel the home team to a hard-fought 82-69 victory to start the 2017-18 season.

Strong play early by senior Tyrell Long (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) helped West Chester race out to the early 11-4 advantage with just over 17 minutes to play in the opening half. After a made free throw by freshman Frank Rokins (Plainfield, N.J./St. Mary's) gave the Golden Rams the 17-14 cushion, a long ball by Wesley's Brian Cameron knotted the game at 17-17 with 12:12 remaining.  Long converted an and-1 with just over ten minutes to play in the first half to put the home team up 22-17 before the Wolverines strung together six-unanswered points to give the team its first lead since the opening tip (23-22). With 1:56 remaining in the first, a three pointer by Wesley's Mycal Stefanides handed the visitors their largest lead of the evening at 38-31. Down a handful, junior Matt Penecale (Jenkintown, Pa./Abington) connected with freshman Dominic Guerrera (Downingtown, Pa./Downington West) for a layup down low, which was followed by a layup from Hyland, to cut the Golden Rams deficit to just three (38-35) with 1:07 to go in the opening frame. Following a Wolverine jumper, Penecale sunk a floater with just eight seconds remaining to bring the score to 40-37 in favor of Wesley heading into the second half.

Although trailing, West Chester shot well from the field in the first half – connecting on a solid 57% (16-of-28) of its shots from the field. The real issue in the first 20 minutes was the Golden Rams other shooting percentages as the home team was only able to connect of 22% (2-of-9) of its shots from deep and 43% (3-of-7) from the charity stripe.

Hyland started the second half with a 5-0 run of his own to give WCU the advantage back at 42-40 with 18:39 remaining in regulation. Rokins drained a three at the 15:36 mark to put the Golden Rams up 51-45 before hammering home a thunderous dunk moments later to stretch the advantage to 53-45. The Wolverines were able to trim the deficit to just two points (61-59) with under eight to play but West Chester quickly answered by scoring the next six-unanswered point to extend the cushion to 67-59 with 6:37 remaining. The home was able to maintain the lead for the remainder of the frame and Hyland – appropriately – closed out the game with a layup to bring the final score to 82-69 in favor of the Golden Rams.

Hyland poured in a game-high 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting to go along with eight boards in a team-high 36 minutes played.  Long's 18 points came on an impressive 8-of-10 shooting from the field while sophomore Tim Toro (Scranton, Pa./Abington Heights) just missed his first double-double of his career after scoring nine points and grabbing a career-high 11 rebounds in the victory.

Brian Cameron led four Wesley players in double figures while JW Lawson grabbed a team-high seven boards for the Wolverines in the loss.