Follow the Golden Rams!
@WCUAthletics
/WCUAthletics
/WCUAthletics
/wcupais1
WEST CHESTER, Pa. - The No. 23 West Chester University men's basketball team returned to the Hollinger Field House on Wednesday evening to square off against Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) foe Lock Haven University.
Although the home team struggled to find its rhythm in the first half, the Golden Rams refocused in the second 20 minutes and outscored the Bald Eagles 67-46 in the second half to give WCU 105-84 victory on Wednesday evening. Wednesday's win was the fifth in a row for the Golden Rams and the team's 105-point output marked the fourth time this season that WCU has eclipsed the 100-point mark - setting a new program record for most triple-digit outings in a year. Speaking of scoring, senior
Tyrell Long (Philadelphia, Pa. / Bishop McDevitt) also logged some important points in Wednesday's game, as the Philadelphia native became the 25th player in WCU men's basketball history to reach 1000 career points following a made free throw in the second half.
With the win, West Chester improves to 20-4 overall and 16-4 in league games. With two regular season games remaining, the Golden Rams currently hold a one-game lead over Shippensburg (15-4 PSAC) for the top spot in the PSAC Eastern Division.
Junior
Frank Rokins (Plainfield, N.J. / St. Mary's) came out of the gate on fire, scoring West Chester's first nine points of the game to put the home team up 9-6 with 15:51 to play in the opening half. Both teams traded the lead over the next few minutes, until a 6-0 spurt by Lock Haven gave the Bald Eagles the largest advantage for either team (24-18) in the first half with just under 10 minutes remaining. The Golden Rams stormed back and took the slim 38-34 lead, before LHU closed out the half on a 4-0 run to knot the score at 38-38 heading into the locker rooms.
West Chester slowly began to take control of the ballgame in the early moments of the second half, managing to construct its first double-digit lead of the game (52-42) with 17:41 to play. Lock Haven was able to trim the deficit down to nine points (59-50) at 14:59 mark, but that layup by Amir Hinton marked the last time in the contest that the Bald Eagles would be within striking distance for the duration of the game. Up 76-61, WCU strung together a 6-0 run to put the Golden Rams up 21 points (82-61) and the home team was able to keep its cushion to at least 18 for the remainder of the stanza en route to the convincing 105-84 victory at home.
West Chester's 54% (39-of-72) shooting from the field on Wednesday was the highest percentage for the Golden Rams in their last five games, while WCU's six blocks against Lock Haven set a new season high for the squad. The Golden Rams dominated the Bald Eagles in points in the paint (62-26) and West Chester's bench unit managed to outduel LHU's group 42-19 on Wednesday night.
Rokins finished the game with a team-high 23 points on 10-of-12 shooting and seven rebounds, while Long put up 16 points and six boards in 23 minutes played. Junior
Matt Penecale (Jenkintown, Pa. / Abington)'s seven assists were the most by any player in Wednesday's game and freshman
Evan-Eric Longino (Furlong, Pa. / Germantown Academy)'s 12 points led three bench players in double figures.
Entering the game as the No. 2 scorer in the PSAC (23 points/game) LHU's Amir Hinton led all players with 27 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the floor to go along with a game-high nine rebounds in 36 minutes.
