WEST CHESTER, Pa. – Led by a game-high 19 points from junior guard
Malik Jackson (LANSDOWNE, PA./PENN WOOD), the West Chester University men's basketball team defeated Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) rival Kutztown 85-67 on Saturday.
Saturday's win, the Golden Rams' 13th in a row, ties a West Chester program record (set in 2002-03) for the longest winning streak in history, and gives WCU head coach
Damien Blair his 200th career win at the helm of the Golden Rams. Currently in his 11th season with the Purple & Gold, Blair becomes just the second West Chester men's basketball coach in program history to reach the 200-win plateau, and Saturday's victory inches Blair closer to WCU/Messikomer Hall of Famer Dick Delaney's (1987-2008) WCU record of 370 career wins (21 season).
The Golden Rams now boast an 11-0 mark inside the Hollinger Field House this season, keeping West Chester as the only program in the PSAC to remain unbeaten at home during the 2018-19 campaign.
THE BASICS
Score: West Chester 85 | Kutztown 67
Records: West Chester 19-5 (14-2 PSAC) | Kutztown 13-11 (7-9 PSAC)
Location: Hollinger Field House - West Chester, Pa.
SHORT STORY
With the Golden Rams leading 18-10 at the 14:28 mark, Kutztown superstar Anthony Lee was charged with his third personal foul, which sent the PSAC's leading scorer to the bench for the duration of the opening half. West Chester was able to build an 18-point cushion with Lee on the bench, but the visiting Golden Bears managed to hack that advantage all the way down to eight points following a 10-0 run midway through the opener. A three-pointer by Moe Williams at the 3:05 mark brought Kutztown within four (39-35), but that would be as close as the squad would get as the Golden Rams ended the first on a 9-2 run to take a 48-37 lead into the locker rooms.
Although Lee was reinserted into the lineup in the second half, West Chester has able to keep him in check for the duration of the second stanza. Kuztown tried to piece a few runs together throughout the second frame, but the Golden Bears would get no closer than 12 for the entirety of the contest. West Chester built a lead of 20-plus on a few occasions in the second half before eventually earning the 85-67 conference victory on Saturday night.
WEST CHESTER RUNDOWN
- The Golden Rams shot a solid 43% (31-of-72) from the field in the victory and 44% (7-of-16) from beyond the arc. West Chester's 44% clip from deep is the highest for the squad in its last 13 games and its seven made triples are the second most in the team's last eight.
- WCU converted on 16-of-22 (73%) attempts from the charity stripe in Saturday's win, while handing out 20 assists and nabbing 11 steals.
- West Chester held a dominating 46-26 advantage in the paint and the Golden Rams turned Kutztown's 19 turnovers into 16 points on the night.
- Jackson's 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting led all scorers, while senior Frank Rokins (PLAINFIELD, N.J./ST. MARY'S) tied a season-high with 17 points to go along with eight rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
- After being honored prior to Saturday's game for breaking WCU's all-time career assists record and scoring his 1,000th career points last week, senior Matt Penecale (JENKINTOWN, PA./ABINGTON) put up 13 points, six boards and a team-high six assists in Saturday's victory.
KUTZTOWN FACTS
- Entering the game as the No. 2 shooting team in the PSAC (49%), the Golden Bears connected on a season-low 36% (21-of-59) of their shots on Saturday night and KU's 67 points marked the fewest by the squad in its last 13 games.
- The visitors knocked down 7-of-20 attempts from beyond the arc in the loss, and committed 19 turnovers, which stands as the most for the Golden Bears in their last six.
- Junior Josh Townsend notched his four double-double of the season (17 points/15 rebounds) to pace Kutztown on Saturday night, while senior Anthony Lee's 13 represented the only other double-digit scoring output by a Golden Bear in the loss. Coming into Saturday as the third leading scorer in all of NCAA DII (27.7 ppg.), Lee was saddled with foul trouble for the entirety of Saturday's outing, which played a huge part in the senior recording his lowest scoring output in his last 31 appearances.
UP NEXT
The Golden Rams will look to break the program record for consecutive wins on Wednesday (Feb.13), when the squad welcomes Mansfield (4-19, 1-15 PSAC) to Hollinger Field House for a game set to tip off at 7:30 p.m.
PENECALE HONORED
Prior to this evening's game, senior
Matt Penecale was presented with two commemorative basketballs in recognition of Penecale scoring his 1,000th career point and becoming West Chester's all-time career assists leader. Joining Matt on the court was West Chester Director of Athletics
Terry Beattie, WCU head coach
Damien Blair, and WCU/Messikomer Hall of Famer Ricky Hicks - who Penecale surpassed for the top spot on WCU's assists leaderboard.
