KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The West Chester trio of senior
Jackson Hyland (AVONDALE, PA./KENNETT) (22), junior
Malik Jackson (LANSDOWNE, PA./PENN WOOD) (22) and sophomore
Evan-Eric Longino (FURLONG, PA. /GERMANTOWN ACADEMY) (20) combined for 64 points on Saturday night to help the Golden Rams open Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East play with a 99-76 victory over Kutztown University inside the Keystone Arena.
THE BASICS
Final Score: West Chester 99, Kutztown 76
Location: The Keystone Arena – Kutztown, Pa.
Records: West Chester 8-5 overall (4-2 PSAC), Kutztown 7-6 overall (2-4 PSAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The home team got on the board first with a quick jumper by Moe Williams, but the Golden Rams would knot the score at 2-2 with free throws by Hyland before taking the lead for good following a layup from senior Frank Rokins (PLAINFIELD, N.J./ST. MARY'S) with 16:24 to play in the opener.
- West Chester was able to maintain a lead for the duration of the first half and closed out the opening stanza on a 12-0 run to take a sizable 55-35 advantage into the locker rooms.
- Down 22 in the second half, the Golden Bears used an 11-0 spurt to hack the WCU advantage down to 11, but that would be as close as the hosts would get for the remainder of the game.
- A bucket by Jackson with 3:28 gave the Golden Rams their biggest lead of the second half (94-69), and the visitors were able to cruise the rest of the way to take the 99-76 conference win to close out 2018.
WEST CHESTER RUNDOWN
- The Golden Rams forced Kutztown into a season-high 22 turnovers on Saturday night to mark the fourth time this year that a WCU opponent has turned the ball over 20-plus times in a game.
- The West Chester's 11 turnovers against KU were the second fewest for the squad this season, and WCU's 99-point scoring output stands as the second most for the squad (107 vs. Chestnut Hill) so far this year.
- Longino's 20 points versus Kutztown on Saturday were a season-high for the sophomore and marked just the second time in his career that the guard had eclipsed the 20-point plateau in an outing.
- Hyland's 22 points on Saturday keeps the Avondale native's double-digit scoring streak to 12 straight games, and is the fourth time this year that he has put up at least 20 points in a game. Hyland also pulled down 10 boards in the victory to give him his second double-double of the season, and his 12 made free throws against the Golden Bears were the second most in his career.
- M. Jackson tied a season-high with eight made field goals en route to his 22 points, while fellow junior Tim Toro (SCRANTON, PA./ABINGTON HEIGHTS) pulled down double-digit rebounds (10) for the second time this season.
- Saturday's W is the third straight for West Chester over Kutztown after the Golden Bears were able to take seven in a row from WCU taking back to the 2014-15 campaign.
KUTZTOWN FACTS
- Kutztown shot a season-low 41% (23-of-56) from the floor on Saturday and its 22 turnovers against West Chester marked the most for the squad this year.
- Entering the game as the No. 2 scorer in NCAA DII at 28.2 points per game, KU's Anthony Lee led the Golden Bears in scoring with 17 points on Saturday – with 11 of those 17 coming in the second half.
- Kutztown featured four double-digit scorers in Saturday's defeat, including Ricky Hicks (15) and Da'Quan Granberry (14) combining for 29 points off the bench.
UP NEXT
- The Golden Rams return to action next Saturday, January 5, on the road against Millersville at 3:00 p.m.
