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WEST CHESTER, Pa. - Saturday's men's basketball game between No. 25 West Chester University and Kutztown University had almost too many storylines to count. First, Saturday's game marked the first Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East game for either side and coming into tonight's matchup with a combined 9-1 mark in league games – these were the class of the division. Secondly, Saturday's game pitted Kutztown Head Coach Bernie Driscoll - who used to be the top assistant at West Chester – against his former player and current Golden Rams' Head Coach Damien Blair. If these two subplots were not enough, Saturday's contest also represented an opportunity for West Chester to make history if it would be able to come out on top. Sitting at 9-0, a victory against Kutztown would push the Golden Rams to 10-0 to start the season, which would break the previous program record (9-0) for best beginning to a season set back in 2009-10. Take all of these ingredients and mix them with a packed Hollinger Field House and you have the recipe for Saturday's PSAC East grudge match.
The Golden Rams looked well on their way to a blowout victory in the second half, as the squad managed to build a lead as large as 21 points with just under 14 minutes to play. Despite the sizable deficit, the Golden Bears refused to lay down and slowly began to chip away at WCU's lead over the next handful of minutes. With under three minutes to play, Kutztown's leading scorer Anthony Lee pulled up from range and knocked down a triple to bring the Golden Bears with just two points, 87-85, at the 2:43 mark. Following a layup by
Jawan Collins (Yeadon, Pa. / Academy Park),
Frank Rokins (Plainfield, N.J. / St. Mary's) continued his aerial show with a huge dunk to put the home team back on top by six with just 1:57 to play. Kutztown would score the next four points to trim the deficit back down to two and the team had a chance to either tie or take the lead after they ended up with possession of the ball with 39 seconds to play. Following a timeout, the Golden Bears got the ball into the hands of Ethan Ridgeway who was forced to toss up a contested three late in the shot clock, which flew wide and into the hands of West Chester's
Mike Jolaoso (Philadelphia, Pa. / Episcopal Academy).
Down two with 14 seconds remaining, the Golden Bears were forced to foul and send the Golden Rams' Collins to the line for two shots. Entering the game just a hair over 50% shooting from the charity stripe, Collins missed both free throws to keep the Golden Bears' hopes alive with under 10 seconds to play. KU's Ridgeway decided to go for two but was unsuccessful to the Golden Bears' were forced to foul once again. This time, however, West Chester's
Terrence Moore (Philadelphia, Pa. / Audriend) managed to convert on both of his shots from the line to extend the home team's advantage to four with just five second left. Kutztown would turn the ball over on the following possession and, only fittingly, Rokins would take flight once again and slam it home to seal the key 95-89 victory for the Golden Rams on Saturday.
With the win, West Chester remains perfect at 10-0 overall behind a 6-0 mark in league play. Conversely, Kutztown drops to 8-2 on the season and 4-2 in conference games following the loss.
Rokins led West Chester with 24 points and nine boards, highlighted by a handful of monstrous throwdowns a spike of a block.
Tyrell Long (Philadelphia, Pa. / Bishop McDevitt) poured in 23 points and a team-high six assists in the win, while
Matt Penecale (Jenkintown, Pa. / Abington) contributed 16 points, four rebounds, four assists, and four steals in 37 minutes.
Anthony Lee showed out for Kutztown on Saturday, racking up a game-high 34 points in a losing effort.
