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KUTZTOWN, Pa. - Coming off a 44-point victory over Millersville on Wednesday, the (RV) West Chester University men's basketball team headed to the Keystone Arena on Saturday evening to battle Kutztown University in a key Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division matchup.
Powered by a career-high 34 points from senior
Tyrell Long (Philadelphia, Pa. / Bishop McDevitt), the Golden Rams defeated Kutztown 108-99 on Saturday to push WCU's record to 17-4 overall and 13-4 in conference action. With the win, the Golden Rams keep their chances of a first round bye in the PSAC Tournament alive, as West Chester remains in second place behind the streaking Raiders of Shippensburg University in the standings. Aside from the conference implications, Saturday's win was the first for WCU over Kutztown inside the Keystone Arena since 2015 and West Chester's victory snapped a 19-game home winning streak for the Golden Bears dating back to last season. Saturday's 108 points against the KU marks the second-straight game where WCU has eclipsed the 100-point mark this year and Saturday's total was the highest for West Chester since the team put up 109 points on Bowie State during the 2013-14 season.
The game was neck-and-neck to start, as both teams exchanged leads with neither side being able to build a cushion larger than five points in the early going. With the score knotted at 33-33, a three-pointer by Long sparked a 9-2 run to put the visitors on top 42-35 with just under four minutes to play in the frame. The Golden Rams slowly started to build on that seven-point lead and eventually stretched it to 10 points (50-40) with 60 ticks remaining. Long ended the opening stanza with a layup to put WCU on top 52-40, giving the senior a game-high 18 points through the first 20 minutes of action.
West Chester was able to maintain a double-digit advantage for most of the second half, until KU's Anthony Lee and Ethan Ridgeway combined to score seven-unanswered at the 4:34 mark to hack the WCU lead down to just nine (92-83) and force Head Coach Damien Blair to call a timeout in an attempt to stop the run. The home team snuck within seven (96-89) moments later and the Golden Bears were forced to foul and make WCU earn the victory from the line. Following four missed Golden Rams' free throws, Long came through clutch once again – this time with a triple – to put the visitors back on top by double-digits (99-89) with under two minutes to play. Despite struggling from the line earlier in the frame, the Golden Rams closed out the contest by connecting on their final seven shots from the charity stripe to grab the 108-99 victory on Saturday.
WCU shot 52% (31-of-60) from the field and 9-of-17 from deep in the win, while making a season-high 37 out of 53 (70%) shots from the charity stripe on Saturday. The Golden Rams held a 32-22 advantage in bench scoring over Kutztown and the visitors tallied 24 points off turnovers compared to just 12 by the Golden Bears.
Long's career-high 34 points led four Golden Rams in double figures, while the senior added a team--high 15 rebounds and two steals in the victory.
Jackson Hyland (Avondale, Pa. / Kennett) put up 19 points on Saturday and
Matt Penecale (Jenkintown, Pa. / Abington) chipped in 15 points on 3-of-4 shooting to go along with a team-high seven assists in 28 minutes. Off the bench,
Evan-Eric Longino (Furlong, Pa. / Germantown Academy) contributed 17 points on Saturday, while
Terrence Moore (Philadelphia, Pa. / Audriend) put up eight points and nine boards in the winning effort.
KU's Anthony Lee put up a game-high 38 points in the loss and Ethan Ridgeway tallied 17 points and a game-high 12 helpers for the Golden Bears on Saturday.
