INDIANA, Pa. – Senior Jackson Hyland (AVONDALE, PA./KENNETT) notched a double-double in his final collegiate game while fellow seniors Matt Penecale (JENKINTOWN, PA./ABINGTON) and Frank Rokins (PLAINFIELD, N.J./ST. MARY'S) combined for 26 points, but the No. 8 seed West Chester University men's basketball team could not overcome a season-low 32% shooting from the floor in a 74-65 loss against top-seeded Indiana (Pa.) in Saturday's NCAA DII Atlantic Regional Championship.
The Golden Rams end the 2018-19 season with a 22-9 overall record following Saturday's defeat and WCU drops to 1-11 in the NCAA Tournament dating back to its first appearance in 1983. On the flip side, IUP moves to 30-2 overall with Saturday's victory and the Crimson Hawks advance to Sunday's regional semifinal where they will square off against the winner of No. 4 Mercyhurst and No. 5 Fairmont State.
SHORT STORY
The Golden Rams started the game on fire from deep and took a 12-2 advantage early thanks to big shots from both Rokins and Penecale. West Chester held a lead for just over 11 minutes in the opening half before a three-pointer by IUP's Armoni Foster gave the home team its first lead of the evening (23-21) at the 9:15 mark. WCU went on to tie the contest at 25-25 following back-to-back free throws by Penecale, but a 15-5 Crimson Hawk run to close out the first 20 minutes of action put top-seeded IUP in front 40-30 heading into the locker rooms. The Golden Rams held a 21-19 advantage in rebounding through the first half, but struggled to just a 30% clip shooting the ball.
Host IUP enjoyed a double-digit lead for the first nine minutes of the second half, until a 6-0 run by the Golden Rams saw the visitors inch within seven (58-51) with just over 10 minutes to play. With his team down five, Hyland made a critical steal and took it the length of the court for the bucket at the 5:44 mark to bring West Chester within three (62-59), which marked the closest the Golden Rams had been in nearly 20 minutes of clock time. Although the momentum seemed to be shifting in favor of the Purple & Gold, the No. 1 seed IUP was able to weather the storm by hitting big shots when it needed them down the stretch. Up five, the Crimson Hawks closed out the game by going 4-for-4 from the charity stripe to secure the 74-65 victory in Saturday's tournament opener.
WEST CHESTER RUNDOWN
- The Golden Rams shot 22-of-69 (32%) from the floor and 8-of-31 (26%) from beyond the arc in Saturday's loss. Shooting woes against the Crimson Hawks are nothing new for the Golden Rams though this season, as WCU has shot a combined 32% in three loses to IUP this season.
- Hyland paced all players with a season-high 14 rebounds and he combined that with 15 points to give the senior his sixth double-double of the season. A First Team All-Conference selection this season, Hyland ends his career with the Purple & Gold as the ninth leading scorer in program history with 1,448 points across four seasons.
- Penecale's team-high 17 points on Saturday were the most for the senior in his last 10 games and his 7-for-7 shooting from the charity stripe marked the third straight game that he's been perfect from the free throw line. Appearing in his final collegiate game, Penecale leaves West Chester as the program's all-time career assists leader (500) and No. 2 on WCU's all-time career free throw percentage list (.869).
- Rokins' 11 points represented the only other Golden Rams in double figures on Saturday, and although junior Malik Jackson (LANSDOWNE, PA./PENN WOOD) did not shoot particularly well on Saturday, he did manage to pull down a season-high eight rebounds in the losing effort.
CRIMSON HAWK FACTS
- Jacobo Diaz's game-high 18 points led four Crimson Hawks in double figures and center also paced team with seven rebounds and four assists in the win.
- IUP shot 44% (24-of-54) from the field and 9-of-21 (43%) from deep on Saturday, while connecting of 74% (17-of-23) of their shots from charity stripe.
PHOTO GALLERY 1 | PHOTO GALLERY 2
2019 NCAA Atlantic Regional Championship - West Chester Press Conference
