MANSFIELD, Pa. – Sophomore
Evan-Eric Longino's (FURLONG, PA./GERMANTOWN ACADEMY) game-high 19 points led a West Chester bench unit that outscored its opponent 45-2 on Wednesday, as the Golden Rams erased an early 13-0 deficit to handily defeat Mansfield 87-56 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) action inside the Marion Decker Gymnasium. Wednesday's victory is the fourth straight for WCU and brings the Golden Rams' record over the Mountaineers to 16-1 since the 2010-11 season.
THE BASICS
Score: West Chester 87, Mansfield 56
Records: West Chester 10-5 (6-2 PSAC) | Mansfield 1-12 (0-7 PSAC)
Location: Marion Decker Gymnasium | Mansfield, Pa.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- It was all Mansfield to start the game, as the Mountaineers raced out to a 13-0 advantage early thanks in large part to West Chester missing each of its first ten shots from the field. WCU's drought ended at the 12:22 mark following free throws by Longino, and despite the slow start, the Golden Rams went on to score 15 of the next 19 points to square the contest at 17-17 with just over eight minutes to play in the opener.
- With the score knotted at 19-19, the visitors closed out the first stanza on a 13-3 run to take a commanding 32-22 advantage into the locker rooms.
- West Chester carried its intensity of the first 20 minutes into the second half, as the Golden Rams kicked off the second frame with a 14-3 spurt to push their lead to 46-25 in the opening five minutes of the stanza.
- WCU maintained a lead of at least 20 points for the duration of the game, and back-to-back free throws by senior Mike Jolaoso (PHILADELPHIA, PA./EPISCOPAL ACADEMY) would give the visitors their largest cushion of the contest (87-54) in the waning moments before layup by Mansfield's Keith Farmer brought the final score to 87-56 in favor of the Golden Rams.
WEST CHESTER RUNDOWN
- The Golden Rams shot 34-of-75 (45.3%) from the field and 30% (7-of-23) from beyond the arc in the win. Along with the 43-point advantage in bench scoring, West Chester outrebounded the Mountaineers 49-36 and forced the home team into 21 turnovers on the night. WCU doubled MU's points in paint numbers (48-20), and the visitors left the Marion Decker Gymnasium with a +8 (21-13) advantage in second-chance points.
- Longino's game-high 19 points marked the second highest scoring output for the sophomore this season (20 vs. Kutztown) and signaled the fifth game in a row that the guard has scored in double figures.
- Senior Frank Rokins (PLAINFIELD, N.J./ST. MARY'S) tied a season-high with 14 boards on Wednesday night and he paired that total with 14 points to give the forward his fourth double-double of the year.
- Junior Malik Jackson (LANSDOWNE, PA./PENN WOOD) added 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the floor, while senior Miko Jenkins (HARRISBURG, PA./STEEL) tied a season-high with eight points (on 4-of-5 shooting) in his first start of the 2018-19 campaign.
MOUNTAINEER FACTS
- MU connected on 35% (20-of-58) of its shots from the field and only managed to sink five of its 25 attempts from deep to end the game with just a 20% clip from beyond the arc.
- Tyler Moffe's 17 points paced three Mountaineers in double-digits, while Taylor Sweeney notched a double-double (10 points/10 rebounds) in the losing effort.
UP NEXT
- After playing away from the Hollinger Field House for over a month, the Golden Rams return home this Saturday, January 12, to welcome conference foe Bloomsburg for a game scheduled to tip at 3:00 p.m.
