Men's Basketball to Host Wilmington on Saturday

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GAME INFORMATION

Opponent: Wilmington University (Del.)
Date: Saturday, November 25, 2017
Time: 3:00 p.m.
Location: The Schwartz Center (Widener University) - Directions
Coverage: http://www.sidearmstats.com/wcupa/mbball/

BREAKDOWN

SCOUTING WEST CHESTER
Head Coach: Damien Blair
Conference: Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) – East
Overall Record: 4-0
Conference Record: 2-0
Streak: W4
Team Page: http://www.wcupagoldenrams.com/index.aspx?path=mbball
 
Flock Talk
The Golden Rams are coming off of two victories last weekend over conference opponents Gannon University and Clarion University on the road. West Chester's defense was on full display against Gannon on Saturday, as the Golden Rams managed to hold the home team to just 17 points in the second half and just 1-of-9 (11%) shooting from the floor en route to the 52-44 victory. Senior Tyrell Long (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) paced the West Chester offensive attack against the Golden Knights, tallying a team-high 14 points to go along with nine rebounds on 7-of-10 (70%) shooting from the floor. It was the Golden Rams offense that shined in its 91-84 victory over Clarion on Sunday, as the squad connected on 51% (29-of-57) of its shots from the floor, while converting 30 free throws in the win. Long once again led West Chester in scoring versus the Golden Eagles, putting up a game-high 30 points and a team-high seven rebounds in the conference win. For his efforts last weekend, Long was selected as the PSAC Eastern Division Men's Basketball Athlete of the Week on Monday morning. 
 
Roster Check
Long's 19 points per game ties the senior with junior Jackson Hyland (Avondale, Pa./Kennett) for most on West Chester through four games. Newcomer Frank Rokins (Plainfield, N.J./St. Mary's) leads the squad with 7.0 rebounds per outing, eight steals (total) and seven blocks (total), while his scoring average (9.5/game) puts him at No. 3 on the team. Matt Penecale (Jenkintown, Pa./Abington) paces the Golden Rams offense with 3.0 assists per contest and his 8.0 points/game places the point guard fourth overall on the squad. 

Team Stats and All That
Entering Saturday's contest against Wilmington, West Chester boasts one of the best defenses in the PSAC. The Golden Rams rank second in the league in both scoring defense at 60.5 and field-goal percentage defense (.379), while its 10.75 steals per outing puts the team at No. 3 overall in the league. Nationally, West Chester's 57.0 scoring defense is tied for the sixth best in NCAA Division II and its field-goal percentage defense numbers are currently No. 7 in the country. 

Coach Blair on Hot Start
"I think we have been playing really hard and that is the most important thing. You want to be able to play hard on both ends and when you are able to do that good things happen. Although our offense has not been as fluent as I would like we are doing a decent job on the defensive end and keeping people in front of us, which I believe has been a major key to our success."


SCOUTING WILMINGTON
Head Coach: Dan Burke
Conference: Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC)
Overall Record: 2-2
Conference Record: 0-0
Streak: L1
Team Page: http://athletics.wilmu.edu/sports/mbkb/index

The First Word
Entering its game against Shippensburg University on Wednesday, Head Coach Dan Burke and Wilmington University sits at 2-2 on the year and coming off 79-73 loss at Daemen College on Saturday. The Wildcats and Daemen were tied in that game with under a minute to play, until a technical foul called on the Wilmington bench would put Daemen on the free throw line which spark a four-point swing. Down the stretch, Daemen converted on 8-of-10 attempts from the charity stripe to seal the 79-73 victory at home on Saturday. 

Wilmington's offense featured three double-digit scorers in the loss, led by Shawn Church's 19 points on 7-of-17 shooting from the field. Nick Richards chipped in 15 points and a team-high six assists on Saturday, while Paul Medlin logged a double-double (14 points/11 rebounds) on the road. The Wildcats shot 25-of-73 (34%) from the field against Daemen and converted just 32% (9-of-28) shots from beyond the arc. Wilmington owned the glass in Saturday's game, outrebounding the home team 52-28 on the day, but even such a wide rebounding margin could not help the Wildcats combat Daemen's 27 made free throw attempts on Saturday afternoon. 

Roster Check
Coming into Wednesday's contest putting up 18.0 points per game, point guard Jermaine Head is the leader of the Wildcats offense. Head's 18 points per outing are tops on Wilmington through four games and land the talented redshirt sophomore tied for sixth in the Central Athletic Collegiate Conference (CACC). He has scored in double figures in all but one game this season (Saturday's loss to Daemen), highlighted by a 32-point performance in Wilmington's one-point victory over Millersville on November 15. Along with his prolific scoring abilities, Head also leads the Wildcats and ranks amongst the conference leaders with 7.3 rebounds per outing out of the backcourt. Fellow guard Nick Richards is second on the team in scoring at 17.3/game and his 4.3 helpers and 2.3 steals per contest are the most of any Wilmington player through four games. 

Team Stats and All That
The Wildcats enter the Schwartz Center averaging 75.8 points per game, which is the fourth best total in the CACC. Wilmington's 9.5 steals per game are second in the league (No. 28 nationally), while its 40.3 boards per outing rank third in the league. Head Coach Dan Burke's squad has surrendered 75.5 points/game through the first four games of the season and have only scored over 80 points once entering Saturday's game. 

Coach Blair on Wilmington
" Our philosophy heading into Saturday's game is the same as it has been all year - we are going to switch our defenses, play a little of our of matchup and pressure them. We do not want to change too much because it is important to keep the guys familiar with what we are doing and just make small adjustments when needed. Wilmington is an athletic team that is well coached, so the guys are going to have to be on their games if we want to get a W on Saturday."