West Chester's Defense Fuels a 71-45 Win Over Chestnut Hill

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CHESTER, Pa. - Looking to improve to 2-0 to start the 2017-18 season, the West Chester University men's basketball team welcomed Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) representative Chestnut Hill College to the Schwartz Center on Wednesday for a nonconference showdown. Wednesday's game would be the second "home" contest for the Golden Rams at Widener University's Schwartz Center, as the team patiently awaits the completion of the renovations at the Hollinger Field House on campus.
 
West Chester came into Wednesday's contest having defeated Wesley College 82-69 at home, while the Griffins made the trip from Philadelphia after falling to Queens College 78-56 in Queens, N.Y. early last week.
 
 Although four Golden Rams scored in double figures on Wednesday, it would be the West Chester defense – especially in the second half – that ultimately gave the home team the 71-45 victory inside the Schwartz Center. After allowing the Griffins to connect on 9-of-21 shots from the floor in the first half, the Golden Rams completely locked down star guard Demetrius Isaac and the rest of the Chestnut Hill offense – holding the visitors to an incredible 13% (3-of-23) shooting from the floor and just 1-of-8 (12%) from beyond the arc on Wednesday.
 
Aside from the lockdown defense, West Chester Head Coach Damien Blair also credits the proper execution of the team's offensive game plan in the win.
 
"We have been talking all week about getting the ball inside," said Blair after the game. "We want to get the ball inside to loosen the defense up and when we do that, we need to step up and knock down shots – I believe we were successful in doing that tonight."
 
It was a two man show to start the game, as the Golden Rams' Jackson Hyland (Avondale, Pa./Kennett) and Chestnut Hill's  Jackson traded buckets throughout the opening moments. Both men finished with 10 points after the first 20 minutes of action, but it would Hyland's squad that found itself out front 38-26 heading into the locker rooms.
 
West Chester started the second half with an and-1 from Tim Toro (Scranton, Pa./Abington Heights) to go up 15, 41-26, and was able to maintain the cushion until a triple by Jawan Collins (Yeadon, Pa./Academy Park) at the 14:34 mark would extend the advantage to 21 points (51-30) early in the frame. The Golden Rams never flinched over the next 14 minutes and used its defensive pressure to not allow the Griffins a single field goal for a span of over 11 minutes. Up 63-42 with just over five minutes to play, West Chester used a dunk by Matt Penecale (Jenkintown, Pa./Abington) and field goals by Hyland, Frank Rokins (Plainfield, N.J./St. Mary's), and Tyrell Long (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) to push the home team's lead to the largest of the night (71-45) with 1:48 to play. After a half-long drought, Chestnut Hill was finally able to connect on a three pointer at the end of the game to bring the final score at Widener to 71-45, moving the Golden Rams to 2-0 to start the season.
 
Hyland's 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the floor were a game-high and marked the second time in a row that the junior has led West Chester in scoring this season. Long chipped in 14 points and six boards on Wednesday, while Rokins (12 points/10 rebounds) logged the Golden Ram's first double-double of the season. In the middle,Toro ended the game with 10 points and a team-high three steals and Penecale and Collins each handed out four assists on Wednesday to pace the West Chester offense.
 
As a team, the Golden Rams shot a solid 50% (28-of-56) from the field and converted on 7-of-16 free throws (43%) against Chestnut Hill. West Chester held a major 36-2 advantage in points in the paint and outrebounded its opponent 39-29 in the win.
 
Issac led the Griffins for the second time this season (15 points), while Tony Toplyn Jr. secured the middle for Chestnut Hill with a game-high four blocks.
 
The Golden Rams will take its first road trip of the season this weekend, as the squad will travel to Erie to square off against Gannon University to start conference play. With just two days to prepare, Head Coach Blair and his squad are going to have to quickly shift their focus from today's win to the task at hand on Saturday.
 
"We start work on Gannon tomorrow," commented Blair. "Those guys are probably one of the toughest teams in this league and in order for us to win we are going to have to execute and be as tough as them on their home court."