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BOWIE, Md. - The West Chester University men's basketball team had two streaks on the line entering Monday's non-conference matchup against Bowie State University. A win for the Golden Rams would not only mean that Head Coach Damien Blair's squad improved to 7-0 in the all-time series against the Bulldogs, but it also – and most importantly – meant that West Chester would advance to 9-0 to start the season. Sitting at 8-0 heading into Monday's affair, the Golden Rams were just one victory away from tying the program (recorded history) record (9-0) for best overall mark to start a season set during the 2009-10 campaign.
Standing in the way of this record-tying victory were the Bulldogs from Bowie State, a team that pushed West Chester to brink last season before eventually falling 94-92 on November 26 inside the Hollinger Field House. Although not as close as last year's contest, Monday's game was still a very competitive exchange from the opening tip to the final buzzer. Up just five (86-81) late,
Tyrell Long (Philadelphia, Pa. / Bishop McDevitt) scored six of his game-high 22 points in the final two minutes of action to give the visitors some breathing room, before West Chester would use free throws by
Matt Penecale (Jenkintown, Pa. / Abington) and
Jawan Collins (Yeadon, Pa. / Academy Park)Â to seal the 94-85 victory inside the A.C. Jordan Arena on Monday evening.
The win propels the Golden Rams to 9-0 overall and just one win away from a record start ahead of its game against Kutztown University at home on December 30. Conversely, the Bulldogs drop to 5-6 on the season and 1-3 overall against representatives from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) this season.
With the score knotted at 23-23 early in the first half, the Golden Rams strung together five-unanswered points to take the slim 28-23 advantage at the 7:56 mark. West Chester began to slowly add on to its lead over the next few minutes until a made free throw by newcomer
Evan-Eric Longino (Furlong, Pa. / Germantown Academy) gave the visitors their largest lead of the frame at 37-27 with just over four to play. With the Bulldogs closing, Collins stepped up and hit a huge three-pointer to put the Golden Rams back on top by eight (47-29) with 1:44 remaining in the opening stanza. The first half ended with a jumper by Bowie State's Cameron Hayes to bring the score after the first 20 minutes to 47-41 in favor of West Chester.
Despite the deficit, the Bulldogs managed to keep the game within reach to start the second half – eventually trimming West Chester's lead to just four (60-56) with 12:52 to play. The home team hacked the deficit to as little as three points on a few occasions down the stretch, until back-to-back free throws by Saiquon Jamison would bring Bowie State to just a single bucket (78-76) with under five minutes to play. The visitors were able to combat the charging Bulldogs over the waning minutes of the stanza and eventually put the game away thanks to the brilliant play of Long and clutch free throws down the stretch.
Long led all scorers with 22 points on Monday, while also collecting a team-high three blocked shots. Penecale added a season-high 19 points and eight assists in the win and Longino continued to impress with 15 points in his second career start. Making his return,
Frank Rokins (Plainfield, N.J. / St. Mary's) logged his team-best fourth double-double of the year on Monday - putting up 10 points and 11 boards in 31 minutes played.
Dayshawn Well's was high man for the Bulldogs with 20 points, while Ahmaad Wilson chipped in 15 points and seven rebounds in the loss.
