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BLOOMSBURG, Pa. -Â The undefeated No. 23 West Chester University men's basketball team headed to the Nelson Field House on Monday night looking to push its historic win streak to 13-straight games. On the other side of the court stood the Huskies from Bloomsburg University, a team looking to avenge a loss to West Chester in last year's Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament.
Despite holding the lead for a majority of the game, the Golden Rams could not slow the fiery shooting from the Huskies down the stretch. With the visitors leading 77-71 with just under seven minutes to play, Bloomsburg ended the game by connecting on its final nine-straight field goals to close out the contest on a 27-13 run and upend the previously unblemished Golden Rams 98-90 on Monday night.
The loss - its first since March 1, 2017 – drops West Chester to 12-1 overall and brings the Golden Rams to 8-1 in league play. Conversely, Bloomsburg improves to 8-5 on the year and 4-5 in conference games following the stunning upset.
After back-to-back free throws by
Tyrell Long (Philadelphia, Pa. / Bishop McDevitt) put the visitors on top 23-8 at the 12:38 mark, it looked like West Chester was well on its way to another victory. The Golden Rams maintained a double-digit advantage for a majority of the first half, until a triple by BU's Christian Moretellite cut the home team's deficit to just nine (38-29) with 4:10 to play in the opening stanza. Although West Chester was able to keep the lead for the final minutes of the half, Bloomsburg ended the opening frame on a 21-7 run to close the gap to a single point (43-42) entering the locker rooms.
The Golden Rams appeared to get back on track in the second half, as a long triple from
Steve Smith (Ambler, Pa. / La Salle) at the 13:38 mark put the visitors on top by 14 (71-57). The Huskies once again responded with a huge run – this time 29-9 – to storm all the way back and take the 86-80 advantage with under three minutes to play in regulation. Despite big shots by Long and
Matt Penecale (Jenkintown, Pa. / Abington), West Chester was unable to cool off the hot shooting from the Huskies down the stretch and eventually suffered the 98-90 defeat on the road. Bloomsburg's 98 points on Monday were the most the Golden Rams have given up this season and are the highest opponent score against West Chester since Kutztown University put up 114 in last year's PSAC Quarterfinals.
Despite the loss, West Chester logged one of its best offensive performances of the season on Monday night. The Golden Rams shot 30-of-60 (50%) from the field, while connecting on a season-high 14-of-28 (50%) shots from deep and an impressive 94% (16-of-17) of their attempts from the charity stripe.
Long and
Jackson Hyland (Avondale, Pa. / Kennett) each scored 18 points on Monday, with Long adding a team-high eight rebounds, three steals, and two blocks. Penecale chipped in a team-best six assists to go along with 15 points and Smith's nine points led a bench unit that outscored Bloomsburg 25-12 on Monday.
Bloomsburg's Christian Mortellite poured in 29 points to lead all scorers on Monday night and Khary Mauras contributed 20 points and a game-high eight assists in the win.
