WEST CHESTER, Pa. – Senior guard
Matt Penecale (JENKINTOWN, PA./ABINGTON) notched a game-high six dimes to pass West Chester great Ricky Hicks ('91) for the No. 1 spot on WCU's all-time career assists list, as the Golden Rams downed Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West representative University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown 70-58 inside the Hollinger Field House on Wednesday night.
The victory extends WCU's winning streak to 10 games and pushes the Golden Rams' record inside the Hollinger Field House to 9-0 so far this season. West Chester heads into its road contest against Bloomsburg on Saturday undefeated against divisional opponents this year, and the Golden Rams' 10-game winning streak marks the second double-digit streak for WCU in the last two seasons.
THE BASICS
Score: West Chester 70 | Pitt-Johnstown 58
Records: West Chester 16-5 (11-2 PSAC) | Pitt-Johnstown 12-8 (7-6 PSAC)
Location: Hollinger Field House - West Chester, Pa.
SHORT STORY
Junior center
Tim Toro (SCRANTON, PA./ABINGTON HEIGHTS) opened the game with four quick points to give the visitors the 4-0 advantage and the Golden Rams never looked back. West Chester would go on to build a cushion as large as 13 over the Mountain Cats in the opening half, before eventually clinging to a 34-22 advantage to end a tough first half that saw both teams combine to shot just 4-of-22 from beyond the arc.
West Chester maintained its double-digit advantage for a majority of the second stanza, until a 5-0 UPJ run brought the visitors within striking distance (62-57) with just under three minutes to play. West Chester went on to score the next four points to extend its advantage to nine, and senior
Frank Rokins (PLAINFIELD, N.J./ST. MARY'S) would close out the game by scoring the final four points of the contest to give WCU the big 70-58 victory in PSAC-crossover action.
WEST CHESTER RUNDOWN
- The home team shot 37% (25-of-67) from the field in the win, and struggled shooting from deep (24%) and from the free-throw line (16-of-30) on Wednesday night.
- WCU's 70 points against UPJ marked the lowest by the squad in its last 12 contest (64 vs. Slippery Rock), but the team did handle the ball well as WCU's 11 turnovers were the fewest in its last five.
- The Golden Rams held a sizable 36-24 advantage in points in the paint in Wednesday's win and maintained a +6 (14-6) advantage in fast-break points.
- Toro notched a career-high 17 points to pace the Golden Rams on Wednesday and the big man also pulled down 10 rebounds to give the Scranton native his first double-double of the season.
- Senior Jackson Hyland (AVONDALE, PA./KENNETT) tallied 14 points on 6-of-17 shooting from the field, while fellow senior Rokins recorded his team-leading fifth double-double (13 points/10 rebounds) in Wednesday's victory.
- Off the bench, sophomore Evan-Eric Longino (FURLONG, PA./GERMANTOWN ACADEMY) ended the game with 13 points, which made up the entirety of WCU's 13 bench points on Wednesday night.
- Penecale's six assists led all players on Wednesday and gave the senior 456 dimes for his career to surpass Ricky Hicks ('91) on WCU's all-time career assists list. Penecale also notched six points in Wednesday's win to put the guard just six points away from reaching the 1,000-career point plateau.
MOUNTAIN CAT FACTS
- Pitt-Johnstown's 58 points in the loss were the fewest by the squad this season and the team's 21 total fouls were the most by the Mountain Cats in their last 10 outings.
- The UPJ trio of Caiden Landis, Josh Wise, and Joe Batt all put up 13 points in the loss, with Wise pacing the squad with nine rebounds in a team-high 36 minutes played.
- The Mountain Cats connected on 37% (21-of-57) of their shots from the field on Wednesday, while limping along to a 4-of-19 (21%) performance from beyond the arc.
UP NEXT
West Chester hits the road this Saturday, February 2, as the squad travels to the Nelson Field House to square off against Bloomsburg at 3:00 p.m. Following Saturday's road test, the Golden Rams will play their next three straight games at home, before heading the Lock Haven to take on the Bald Eagles on February 20 inside the Thomas Fieldhouse.
