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LOCK HAVEN, Pa. -Â Coming off a 48-point dismantling of Cheyney University on Wednesday, the No. 17 West Chester University men's basketball team hit the road on Saturday to square off against Lock Haven University inside the Thomas Fieldhouse.
The Golden Rams entered Saturday's Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) contest atop the PSAC east with 8-1 mark in league games and as the only team to boast at least eight victories in conference games this season. Saturday's outing pitted West Chester – whose 68.9 scoring defense is No. 3 in the PSAC – against Lock Haven's Amir Hinton who leads the conference and ranks seventh in NCAA DII at 23.9 points per game. Although Hinton was able to get his 10th 20-plus point outing of the season on Saturday, the Golden Rams were able to keep the rest of Bald Eagles in check to snag the 86-77 victory on the road.
West Chester improves to 14-1 on the year behind a 10-1 mark in conference play following the win. Conversely, the Bald Eagles drop to 5-10 overall and 3-8 in league games with the loss.
The first half was neck and neck throughout its entirety, as neither team was able to build a lead larger than seven points in the frame. Â With the score tied at 8-8, a triple by Lock Haven put the home team on top by three, before WCU scored the next five points of the game to put the Golden Rams up 15-11 with just under 12 minutes to play in the frame. A long gun by
Jawan Collins (Yeadon, Pa. / Academy Park) at the 7:34 mark gave West Chester its biggest lead of the first half at 26-19, but the home quickly answered with an 8-2 spurt the cut the deficit to just one, 28-27, with under five to play. Down 40-36 late, Lock Haven ended the half with two free throws to shrink the Golden Rams' advantage to 40-38 heading into the locker rooms.
A long three by LH's Kelly Christian put the Bald Eagles on top 58-57 with 9:52 to play in the second half, but this one-point lead proved to be the last for the home team on Saturday night. Down one, West Chester orchestrated a 9-0 run to go up 66-58, before eventually ballooning the lead to a game-high 13 (78-65) with under five to play. Out in front, the Golden Rams ended the game by connecting on their final six free throws to take the 86-77 win on the road.
Jackson Hyland (Avondale, Pa. / Kennett) 's 17 points led three West Chester players in double figures.
Tyrell Long (Philadelphia, Pa. / Bishop McDevitt) added 14 points and eight boards in the win, while
Terrence Moore (Philadelphia, Pa. / Audriend) logged a career-high 14 points and nine rebounds off the bench. The Golden Rams shot 42% (28-of-66) from the field and 8-of-18 (44%) from beyond the arc on Saturday, while holding a massive 40-14 advantage in post scoring and a 42-29 edge in rebounding.
Hinton led all players with 25 points for Lock Haven and Tarojae Brake contributed 20 points and a team-high six boards on Saturday night.
