WCU Defeats Shippensburg, Secures No. 2 Seed in PSAC Tournament

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WEST CHESTER, Pa. - The (RV) West Chester University men's basketball team capped off the 2017-18 regular season on Wednesday night by hosting (RV) Shippensburg University in a crucial conference matchup inside the Hollinger Field House.

Wednesday's Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) showdown pitted not only two of the top four teams in the Atlantic Region against it each other, but it also featured two of the top three programs in the PSAC Eastern Division – a division where the top four spots were separated by just a single game heading into Wednesday night.

Despite recording its lowest scoring output in over a month, the Golden Rams' defense was able to hold the visiting Raiders to just 29.7% shooting from the field (SU's lowest shooting output in the last 117 games) on Wednesday to secure the key 78-59 victory at home.

With the win, WCU improves to 21-5 overall (17-5 PSAC) and the victory jumps the Golden Rams over Shippensburg for the No. 2 spot in the PSAC Eastern Division standings. Although current top seed East Stroudsburg, Shippensburg, and Kutztown all play on Saturday, the Golden Rams have guaranteed a second place finish and a first-round bye in the PSAC Tournament due to head-to-head matchups. Although the opponent has not be determined yet, it has been confirmed that West Chester will host a quarterfinals game next Wednesday (02/28) at 7:30 p.m. after earning a first-round bye following Wednesday's victory. Conversely, Shippensburg falls to 20-6 on the year and 16-5 in league play after failing to hold a lead for the first time this season in Wednesday's defeat.

The duo of Tim Toro (Scranton, Pa. / Abington Heights) and Matt Penecale (Jenkintown, Pa. / Abington) teamed up to score WCU's first nine points of the game to put the home team on top 9-4 with 17:43 to play in the opening frame. The Golden Rams were able to build a lead as many as 16 points over the next handful of minutes and kept that double-digit lead until a 5-0 run by the Raiders hacked the deficit to just six (33-27) with 1:10 remaining. A triple by Steve Smith (Ambler, Pa. / La Salle) on the following possession put West Chester up nine, before Terrence Moore (Philadelphia, Pa. / Audriend) ended the half with a tip-in off a missed jumper by Penecale at the to give the home team the 38-27 lead through the first 20 minutes.

Shippensburg started the second half with a 6-0 spurt and trimmed the West Chester advantage to just four (38-34) following back-to-back free throws by Justin McCarthur at the 17:25 mark. With the Golden Rams up 47-42, a three-pointer by Smith sparked an 8-0 WCU run to extend the Golden Rams' cushion to 55-42 with just under 12 minutes to play. The Raiders cut the deficit to seven points on two separate occasions down the stretch, but each comeback attempt was thwarted and the Golden Rams eventually pushed their lead to as many 20 points with just over three minutes to play. Up 20, West Chester maintained the defensive pressure and was able to claim the 78-59 victory inside the Hollinger Field House.

The Golden Rams shot 50.8% (32-of-63) from the field and 9-of-23 (39%) from beyond the arc in the win, while holding the statistical advantage over the Raiders in rebounding (45-35), bench scoring (19-3), and points in the paint (36-20).

After being recognized before the game for recently scoring his 1000th career point, Tyrell Long (Philadelphia, Pa. / Bishop McDevitt) came out and dropped a game-high 23 points in 36 minutes on Wednesday. Jackson Hyland (Avondale, Pa. / Kennett) logged 12 points in the victory, while Frank Rokins (Plainfield, N.J. / St. Mary's) and Penecale both recorded 10 points and six rebounds against the Raiders.

John Castello paced Shippensburg with 15 points in the loss and Dustin Sleva grabbed a team-high six boards in the losing effort. Coming into Wednesday's game as the second-leading scorer in the PSAC at just under 22 points per outing, Sleva's 10 on Wednesday were the lowest for the senior in his last 11 games and marked just the second time all season that the forward failed to score over 10 points in a game.