LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – The (RV) West Chester University men's basketball team knocked down 14 three-pointers and pulled down a season-high 53 rebounds as the Golden Rams defeated Lock Haven 90-74 inside the Thomas Fieldhouse on Thursday night.
Thursday's victory extends West Chester's current winning streak to 15 games and keeps the Golden Rams 1.5 games ahead of East Stroudsburg for the top spot in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East division standings with two regular season games left on the schedule.
The Golden Rams are eyeing their first outright divisional title since the 2006 season, but the road to the championship will not be easy as WCU closes out the year with games against ESU (No. 2 - East) at home on Saturday and on the road at Shippensburg (No. 3 - East) next Wednesday.
SHORT STORY
The Golden Rams (21-5, 16-2 PSAC) were on fire in the first half, as West Chester knocked down an impressive 10 three-pointers in the opening 20 minutes of action. WCU used its hot hand from deep to build a double-digit lead (24-14) midway through the frame, but the host Bald Eagles (10-13, 7-11 PSAC) were able to battle back to knot the game at 35-35 with a shade under three to play. A triple by sophomore
Evan-Eric Longino (FURLONG, PA./GERMANTOWN ACADEMY) put the visitors back in front on the next possession and West Chester took the 47-42 advantage into the locker rooms.
The Bald Eagles cut the deficit to one (50-49) early in the second half, before a 16-4 run by the Golden Rams would put the visitors out in front for good. LHU would get no closer than 12 over the last 11 minutes of action, as West Chester ballooned its lead to 19 points on four different occasions down the stretch en route to the 90-74 conference victory.
WEST CHESTE RUNDOWN
- The Golden Rams shot lights out on Thursday night, including a season-high 54% clip from the beyond the arc. West Chester's 14 made triples were the second most for the Golden Rams this season and WCU's 26 attempts from beyond the arc marked the 22nd time this year that West Chester had attempted at least 20 shots from deep.
- WCU's season-high 52 rebounds on the night gave the visitors a sizable +23 rebounding margin in Thursday's victory, while the Golden Rams notched a massive 40-5 advantage in bench scoring led by Longino's season-high 22 points. Sophomore Colin Daly (HAVERTOWN, PA./ARCHBISHOP CARROLL) was another key factor in the bench-scoring discrepancy after the guard dropped a career-high 14 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the floor in 12 minutes.
- Senior Jackson Hyland (AVONDALE, PA./KENNETT) paced the Golden Rams' starting unit with 18 points and ten rebounds to give the guard his second straight (fifth overall) double-double of the season.
- Junior Malik Jackson (LANSDOWNE, PA./PENN WOOD) added 16 points on a team-high three triples in the win, while senior guard Matt Penecale (JENKINTOWN, PA./ABINGTON) flirted with a triple-double, as he finished Thursday's game with eight points to along with a season-high eight rebounds and 10 assists.
- Senior Frank Rokins' (PLAINFIELD, N.J./ST. MARY'S) 11 rebounds were a game-high on Thursday evening.
LOCK HAVEN FACTS
- Sophomore Matt Cerruti led all scorers with 27 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the floor. Junior Christian Kelly chipped in 17 points and a team-high seven boards in the losing effort, while redshirt junior Jihad Barnes added 10 points and a team-high six assists on Thursday night.
- Lock Haven shot 47% (27-of-57) from the floor and 37% (7-of-19) from beyond the arc in the loss and the Bald Eagles held a +10 (36-26) advantage in points in the paint.
- After recently clinching the final spot in the PSAC Tournament, LHU has now lost three straight games to fall to 10-13 on the year and 7-11 in the PSAC with three games remaining in the regular season.
UP NEXT
The Golden Rams have their final home game of the regular season this Saturday (February 23), as West Chester welcomes divisional foe East Stroudsburg to town with first place in the PSAC East hanging in the balance. If West Chester was to defeat the Warriors on Saturday, WCU would secure its first PSAC East Championship in the last 12 years – a fitting way to honor West Chester's senior class on senior day.
