INDIANA, Pa. – The West Chester University men's basketball team went toe-to-toe with No. 3 Indiana (Pa.) inside the Kovalchick Convention & Athletic Complex on Tuesday night. Despite holding a sizable rebounding margin and keeping the host Crimson Hawks to just 2-of-11 from the field to close out the first half, inconsistent shooting in the second half would put a halt to the visitor's upset bid in a 80-75 loss in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) crossover action.
THE BASICS
Final Score: West Chester 80, No. 3 IUP 75
Location: Kovalchick Convention & Athletic Complex – Indiana, Pa.
Records: West Chester 6-5 overall (2-2 PSAC), No. 3 IUP 11-0 overall (4-0 PSAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- A jumper from senior Frank Rokins (PLAINFIELD, N.J./ST. MARY'S) put the visitors on the board first, but the third-ranked Crimson Hawks would score the next five points of the game to take a lead that they would not surrender for the duration of the opening half.
- IUP pushed its advantage to as many as 11 points with under nine to play, but West Chester was able to use its superb rebounding prowess to steadily chip away at the host's lead. With 2:30 left on the clock, a tip-in by senior Jackson Hyland (AVONDALE, PA./KENNETT) brought the Golden Rams just a single point (29-28) away from tying the Crimson Hawks in the waning moments of the opener.
- Down four with a minute to play, sophomore Colin Daly (HAVERTOWN, PA./ARCHBISHOP CARROLL) drained his second triple of the opening stanza to bring the visitors back within one (34-33) to close out the first half.
- Both teams struggled from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, with West Chester connecting on just 35% (13-of-37) of its shots from the floor while the Crimson Hawks managed to convert on just 10-of-27 (37%) of their field goals in the first 20 minutes of action.
- Despite only knocking down 18% (3-of-17) of their shots from deep, the Golden Rams were able to stick close to the third-ranked Crimson Hawks thanks to a +5 (23-18) margin on the glass and keeping IUP to just 2-of-11 shooting to close out the frame.
- A layup by Hyland to start the second stanza put the Golden Rams back in front, and following a few lead changes, West Chester found itself up three after back-to-back free throws by sophomore Evan-Eric Longino (FURLONG, PA./GERMANTOWN ACADEMY) with 12:18 to play.
- WCU hit a rough patch midway through the second stanza, as the Golden Rams went nearly seven minutes without a field goal. Down five, a tip-in by Rokins at the 6:06-mark snapped an 0-of-10 streak for West Chester that took 6:42 off the clock.
- Down eight late, a triple by junior Ian Langendoerfer (HONESDALE, PA./HONESDALE LOYOLA UNIVERSITY) would bring the final score to 80-75 on Tuesday night to keep IUP's undefeated season rolling.
WEST CHESTER RUNDOWN
- West Chester had a difficult time shooting the ball on Tuesday, knocking down just 31% (22-of-71) of their shots from the floor and five of their 28 attempts (17.9%) from beyond the arc. The Golden Rams' 18.5 clip from deep was a season-low and the worst percentage for WCU since February of last year.
- Entering the game as one of the top rebounding teams in all of NCAA DII, the Golden Rams outrebounded the Crimson Hawks 46-35 including a 23-9 advantage on the offensive glass.
- Rokins paced the Golden Rams with 15 points and fellow senior Matt Penecale (JENKINTOWN, PA./ABINGTON) added 13 points, four rebounds, and five assists in the loss.
- Hyland grabbed a team-high seven boards to go along with 10 points on Tuesday, while Longino chipped in 11 points off the bench for the Golden Rams.
IUP FACTS
- Jacobo Diaz poured in a game-high 25 points and 11 boards for IUP to give the senior his PSAC-leading sixth double-double of the season.
- The Crimson Hawks knocked down 24-of-30 (80%) shots from the charity stripe and dished out 18 assists in the win, led by junior Malik Miller's five helpers in 32 minutes.
UP NEXT
- West Chester will continue its western tilt tomorrow, December 19, with a road contest against Seton Hill. Tip off from the Katherine Mabis McKenna Center in Greensburg in schedule for 7:30 p.m.
