MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – Senior guard
Matt Penecale (JENKINTOWN, PA./ABINGTON) led four Golden Rams in double figures on Saturday as the West Chester University men's basketball team defeated Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) divisional rival Millersville 72-63 inside the Pucillo Gymnasium. Saturday's win marked the third in a row for WCU and the tenth straight victory for the Golden Rams over the Marauders dating back to the 2013-14 season.
THE BASICS
Final Score: West Chester 72, Millersville 63
Records: West Chester 9-5 overall (5-2 PSAC) | Millersville 7-6 overall (3-3 PSAC)
Location: Pucillo Gymnasium – Millersville, Pa.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The teams struggled shooting the ball in the opening half, as both squads shot under 28% from the field in the first 20 minutes of action, and combined to hit just 3-of-22 (7%) of their shots from beyond the arc.
- Both teams limped along to a 22-22 tie with just over three minutes to play in the first stanza, before a jumper by Penecale would spark a 7-0 West Chester run to close out the opening half with the visitors on top, 29-22.
- Millersville remained down for the first two-plus minutes of the second half, until a long triple by Marcus Adkison gave the home team the 36-34 advantage with 16:57 remaining in regulation. The Marauders would only hold that slim lead for 25 seconds before senior Jackson Hyland (AVONDALE, PA./KENNETT) sank a three-pointer of his own to put the Golden Rams back in front for the final time.
- West Chester managed to balloon its lead to double-digits in the waning moments of the second half, building a cushion as large as 16 points (71-55) with 2:04 left on the clock.
- The Marauders closed out the game by scoring the last seven points of the contest to bring the final score to 72-63 in favor of the Purple and Gold.
WEST CHESTER RUNDOWN
- WCU shot better from deep (6-of-15/40%) than it did from the field overall (22-of-62/35%) on Saturday, but the team once again flexed its muscle on the boards – grabbing 50 rebounds on the evening, including a season-high 35 boards on the defensive end.
- Penecale's 15 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the floor paced the WCU offense, and marked the fourth straight game that the guard had scored in double figures after only reaching that scoring plateau once in his previous five outings. Penecale also pulled down a season-high nine boards in Saturday's win to go along with three assists and two steals in 32 minutes played.
- Junior Malik Jackson (LANSDOWNE, PA./PENN WOOD) and senior Frank Rokins (PLAINFIELD, N.J./ST. MARY'S) both finished with 12 points in the win, with Rokins adding eight boards and a team-high three steals along the way.
- Off the bench, sophomore Evan-Eric Longino (FURLONG, PA./GERMANTOWN ACADEMY) added 13 points in 27 minutes played to help the Golden Rams to a 24-13 advantage in bench scoring.
MILLERSVILLE FACTS
- The Marauders shot season-lows in both field goal percentage (.356) and three-point field goal percentage (.250) on Saturday, and MU's 63 points against West Chester was the lowest scoring output for the team so far this season and well under its 80.8 points/game average.
- Defensively, Millersville managed to log seven blocks against West Chester on Saturday, which is the most for the team since November 14 and the second most overall for the squad this year.
- Freshman guard Jaden Faulkner led all scorers with 18 points in the loss and his six assists were also a game-high for either side.
UP NEXT
- The Golden Rams cap off their current six-game road trip with a meeting against Mansfield on Wednesday, January 9, inside the Marion Decker Gymnasium at 7:30 p.m.
