Heath Scores 50 Points, Golden Rams Beat Bloomsburg, 100-97

WEST CHESTER, Pa. - Freshman guard Robbie Heath (Whittlesea, Australia / Abington) scored 50 points in West Chester University men's basketball's 100-97 win over Bloomsburg University on Saturday at Hollinger Field House.
 
Heath is the second player in Golden Rams history to reach 50 points in a game. The other was Art Nazigan who had 53 in 1952. Heath is the first Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference player to score 50 in a game since Kutztown's Anthony Lee scored 50 last season. Only 16 PSAC players in history have ever scored more than 50.
 
Heath's 26 points in 13 first-half minutes had the Golden Rams in the driver's seat as they were up 52-44 going into halftime.
 
West Chester's lead ballooned to 20 with 9:42 left in regulation. However, the Huskies climbed all the way back and were down just 94-93 with 1:13 remaining. On the ensuing possession, freshman Matt Dade (Collegeville, Pa. / Episcopal Academy) muscled his way to the basket for a layup that gave West Chester a three-point cushion. Dade had 15 points and seven rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench on Saturday.
 
After trading baskets back and forth, Bloomsburg ended up with the ball with 13 seconds on the clock down by two. Nonetheless, West Chester played tough defense to force a missed shot and junior Terrell Jones (Ardmore, Pa. / Lower Merion) grabbed a strong rebound that essentially sealed the deal
 
The Golden Rams did not give up the lead over the final 34:41 of gameplay.
 
Heath's final line was 50 points and nine rebounds in 33 minutes on the court. He made 21-of-23 free throws, 12-of-26 field goals and 5-of-11 three-pointers. The 6'3 freshman with incredible leaping abilities is averaging a PSAC-best 23.7 points this season and a team-high 7.2 rebounds.
 
West Chester improves to 16-8 overall and 10-8 in the PSAC with the win. WCU sits in third place in the PSAC East with four regular season games remaining.
 
The Golden Rams play at Kutztown University in their next game on February 19 at 7:30 p.m. The game after that is at home against Lock Haven University on February 22 at 3 p.m.
 
The PSAC tournament that includes six teams from each division runs from March 2-8.