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WEEKEND INFORMATION
Opponent: Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Date: Saturday, December 2, 2017
Time: 3:00 p.m.
Location: Hollinger Field House - 150 University Ave, West Chester, Pa. 19383
Live Audio:
http://wche1520.com/
Live Video:
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/wcupa/
Live Stats:
http://www.sidearmstats.com/wcupa/mbball/
Opponent: Seton Hill University
Date: Sunday, December 3, 2017
Time: 3:00 p.m.
Location: Hollinger Field House - 150 University Ave, West Chester, Pa. 19383
Live Audio:
http://wche1520.com/
Live Video:
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/wcupa/
Live Stats:
http://www.sidearmstats.com/wcupa/mbball/
BREAKDOWN
SCOUTING WEST CHESTER
Head Coach: Damien Blair
Conference: Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) – East
Overall Record: 5-0
Conference Record: 2-0
Streak: W5
Team Page:
http://www.wcupagoldenrams.com/index.aspx?path=mbball
Flock Talk
Led by Head Coach Damien Blair, the West Chester men's basketball team enters this weekend's Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) doubleheader with a 5-0 overall record behind a perfect 2-0 mark in conference play. The Golden Rams are making their triumphant return to Hollinger Field House on Saturday coming off a convincing 78-61 victory over Wilmington College last weekend in West Chester's final "home" game inside the Schwartz Center at Widener University. Reigning PSAC Co-Athlete of the Week
Tyrell Long (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) paced the West Chester attack versus the Wildcats on Saturday – pouring in a game-high 27 points, while grabbing 13 boards and dishing out a team-high six assists and two blocked shots. Junior
Frank Rokins (Plainfield, N.J./St. Mary's) also notched a double-double (13 points/13 boards) in the win and
Matt Penecale (Jenkintown, Pa./Abington) chipped in 12 points and six assists on Saturday evening. After wielding the Golden Rams to their fifth-straight victory of the season, Long was once again named the PSAC East Athlete of the Week the following Monday – marking the second time in two weeks that the senior earned the conference accolade this year.
Roster Check
Long leads the West Chester offense and ranks inside the top 10 of the conference with 20.6 points per game. Connecting on 41-of-65 attempts, Long's .631 field goal percentage is fifth best in the PSAC, while his 35.8 minutes per outing puts the senior at No. 8 in the league through five games. A native of Philadelphia, Long has scored at least 14 points in each game thus far this season and he has averaged 28.5 points and 10 rebounds in the Golden Rams' last two victories.
A transfer out of Essex County College, Rokins has been an animal on both sides of the ball for West Chester this season. Coming off a 13-point, 13-rebound performance versus Wilmington, Rokins leads the Golden Rams in rebounding (8.2/game), blocks (1.6/game) and steals (2.0/game), while his 10.2 points per contest lands the forward at No. 3 on the team. Rokins' two double-doubles this season are the most of any player on West Chester thus far and his 13 rebounds against Wilmington were a team high this season and ranks him amongst the conference leaders heading into Saturday.
Senior sharpshooter
Jackson Hyland (Avondale, Pa./Kennett) ranks second on the squad in scoring at 17.2 points per outing and was the top scorer for the Golden Rams in two games so far this season. Hyland has tallied at least 20 points twice this season and his 24-point performance against Wesley College to start the season was the most points scored by a West Chester men's basketball player to begin a year in over a decade.
Team Stats and All That
West Chester's offensive numbers (74.8 points/game) may not jump off the page, but the Golden Rams' defense does impress and it more than makes up for the squads shortcomings on the offensive side of the ball. Head Coach Blair's squad is only allowing 60.6 points per game on 37% shooting to its opponents, which lands the team at No. 5 in the country in both categories and No. 2 in the PSAC behind Mercyhurst University. West Chester's 9.8 steals/game are tied for 14
th in NCAA DII and its 14.2 offense/defense margin lands the team tied for 34
th in the nation and inside the top three of the conference. Last time out, the Golden Rams held Wilmington to just 34.8% (23-of-66) shooting from the floor and 22% (5-of-22) from beyond the arc in West Chester's 78-61 victory at the Schwartz Center. WCU's swarming defense forced 15 turnovers in the game and kept the Wildcats to just 25% shooting in the first half.
Coach Blair on Team Defense
"Our goal was never to be a top-five defensive team in the country, but we put in a philosophy and we told our guys that we were going to work within that philosophy and just try and get better every single day. I still think we are weak in certain areas and those areas are the ones we have been concentrating the most on, but, right now I do not believe we are where we need to be in order to be one of the top teams in the PSAC."
SCOUTING IUP
Head Coach: Joe Lombardi
Conference: Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) – East
Overall Record: 5-3
Conference Record: 2-0
Streak: W4
Team Page:
http://iupathletics.com/index.aspx?path=mbball
Hawk Talk
IUP heads to the Hollinger Field House with a 5-3 overall record and having won its last four-straight contests. The Crimson Hawks battled the University of the Sciences last Saturday and managed to defeat the Devils 80-57 at home to improve to 4-1 inside the Kovalchick Convention & Athletic Complex. Dante Lombardi led three Crimson Hawks in double figures in that game, pouring in a team-high 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor to go along with five assists, one block, and one steal in 34 minutes played. Anthony Glover tallied 18 points in Saturday's win, while Jacobo Diaz chipped in 14 points and four assists versus the Devils.
Roster Check
IUP features five players that average at least 10 points per game this season, led by Diaz's 15.1 points per outing. The 2016-17 PSAC West Athlete of the Year, Diaz's 74 total rebounds through eight games are the most of any player in the PSAC this season and his 9.3 boards per contest are tops on IUP and puts the junior at No. 5 in the league. Senior Anthony Glover Jr. only trails Diaz by 0.01 (14.0 ppg) for the top spot on the Crimson Hawks scoring list, while Lombardi paces the IUP offensive attack with 5.0 helpers per outing to go along with 11.8 points each game.
Team Stats and All That
The Crimson Hawks are allowing just 72.3 points per game through eight contests, putting Head Coach Lombardi's team at No. 4 for scoring defense in the conference. Offensively, IUP is putting up 77.8 points/game heading into Saturday's matchup and holds a positive margin in scoring (+5.5), rebounds (+1.1), and turnovers (1.1). Last time out, the Crimson Hawks kept the University of the Sciences to a season-low 57 points on just 32% (19-of-59) shooting from the floor and 27% (3-of-11), while forcing 14 turnovers, which led to 22 points in the Crimson Hawks' 23-point victory.
Coach Blair on IUP
"Coach Lombardi is one of the best in the business and he manages both sides of the ball very well ... IUP runs a ton of different sets to keep you off balance defensively. This team has always been a measuring stick out west, so this will be a good opportunity to see where we are at early in the season."
SCOUTING SETON HILL
Head Coach: Tony Morocco
Conference: Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) – East
Overall Record: 3-3
Conference Record: 1-1
Streak: W1
Team Page:
http://athletics.setonhill.edu/index.aspx?path=mbball
Hill's Deal
Heading into a Saturday matchup against East Stroudsburg, Seton Hill carries a 3-3 overall record (1-1 PSAC) and coming off a hard-fought 75-72 victory over Salem International last Wednesday. Off the bench, Nathan Davis led the Griffins with 19 points, while Spencer Casson contributed 16 points, a game-high eight boards and seven assists to go along with three steals in 32 minutes played. Trevor Lecuona logged a team-high 35 minutes in Wednesday's victory and recorded 14 points and three steals to help Seton Hill improve to 3-3 on the season.
Roster Check
Standing a 6-8, redshirt senior Casson has been an absolute force for the Griffins on the defensive end through his career. Casson currently leads the PSAC and ranks second NCAA DII with 21 total blocks and 3.5 rejections per game. Heading into Saturday's game, his 299 career blocks are third most all time in conference history and he currently sits at No. 3 on the PSAC leaderboard for blocks in a game (10 - 2x, 2016-17) and No. 4 for most blocks in a single season (108, 2016-17). A back-to-back PSAC West Defensive Player of the Year selection, Casson is averaging 11.8 points and a team-high 8.8 boards and 2.5 assists per contest entering Saturday's game at East Stroudsburg.
Team Stats and All That
The Griffin's -7.6 offense/defense margin is the second lowest in the PSAC thus far this season, thanks to an offense that is only scoring 70.9 points/game (No. 16 in the league) and a defense that is surrendering 78.4 points/game (No. 12 in the league) to its opponents to start the year. With Casson holding down the middle, the Griffins currently rank third in the PSAC and No. 19 in the country with 5.0 blocked shots per game, which marks the only statistical category that Seton Hill ranks within the top 150 nationally.
Coach Blair on Seton Hill
"Seton Hill is very similar to us - they are big, long, and tough. They are also very well coached ... coach Morocco has been there for a number of years and has done an excellent job - this is going to be a very challenging game for us."
