Golden Rams Improve to 5-0 with 78-61 victory over Wilmington

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The undefeated West Chester University men's basketball team embarked on the Schwartz Center at Widener University for the final time on Saturday afternoon to host Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CCAC) representative Wilmington University.
 
Saturday's contest marked the final time that the Golden Rams will call the Schwartz Center "home" this season, as the renovations at WCU's Hollinger Field House are set to be completed in time for West Chester's men's and women's doubleheader on Saturday. Although not technically its home floor, the Schwartz Center has been good the Golden Rams men's squad, producing three victories against no defeats for Head Coach Damien Blair's squad to start the 2017-18 season.
 
West Chester came into Saturday's non-conference contest touting a perfect 4-0 overall record and coming off two league victories on the road against Gannon University and Clarion University. Conversely, the Wildcats headed to Widener with a 3-2 overall mark and having defeated Shippensburg on a late-second three pointer on Wednesday night.
 
As it has all season, it was the Golden Rams defensive efforts that took center stage on Saturday. The home team held the Wildcats to just 25% (8-of-32) shooting from the floor and 1-of-9 (11%) from beyond the arc in the first half, which translated to West Chester taking a 37-21 advantage into the locker room. Although things got a little tight midway through the second half, the Golden Rams managed to weather the storm on Saturday to claim the 78-61 victory over Wilmington to improve to 5-0 to start the season.
 
Tyrell Long (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) came out of the gate on fire to start the game, outscoring Wilmington 6-4 on his own to put West Chester up 18-4 with under 15 minutes to play. After two free throws at the 7:33 mark by WU's Zahir Robinson brought the Wildcats within 11 (24-13), back-to-back triples by the Golden Rams' Steve Smith (Ambler, Pa./La Salle) pushed the home team's advantage to 30-13 with just under seven minutes remaining. The opening half ended with Matt Penecale (Jenkintown, Pa./Abington) swiping a pass from Wilmington's Shawn Church and passing it up ahead to Long, who found a streaking Frank Rokins (Plainfield, N.J./St. Mary's) in midair for a thunderous alley oop to give the Golden Rams the 37-21 lead through the first 20 minutes of action.
 
West Chester held a double-digit advantage for a majority of the second half, until a run by the Wildcats made things a little interesting inside the Schwartz Center. Down 15, Wilmington orchestrated a 9-0 run to hack the deficit to just six, 52-46, with 8:19 to play in regulation. Following a layup by Long off an assist by Jackson Hyland (Avondale, Pa./Kennett), the Wildcats connected on a deep three ball to come within five (54-49) with 7:35 to play. Despite the Wilmington pressure, West Chester quickly rebounded and began to put the game away in the final moments. Up 10, a layup by  Rokins sparked a 12-2 West Chester run to put the home team comfortably on top by 20 (74-54) with just over a minute to play. Following some free throws by both sides, the Golden Rams were able to close play at the Schwartz Center with a 78-61 victory on Saturday evening.
 
Reigning Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Co-Athlete of the Week Long led the West Chester attack with a game-high 27 points and 13 boards to go along with two blocks. Rokins logged yet another double-double (13 points/13 rebounds), while Penecale chipped in 12 points and tied Long for the team lead with six assists in 39 minutes played.
 
Jermaine Head paced Wilmington with 25 points on Saturday, while Dawson Grinnage added six points and a game-high 16 boards in the loss.