WILMINGTON, Del.- Following a pair of victories to open the season last weekend, the West Chester men's basketball team (2-0) returns to action on Sunday afternoon at Wilmington (1-3) with that contest set to begin at 3 p.m.
West Chester and Wilmington have engaged in a number of close battles in recent years but West Chester has had the upper hand as of late, winning four of the last five games between the two non-conference foes including a 107-74 drubbing of the Wildcats during the 2019-20 season. All-time, West Chester enters play on Sunday afternoon with a commanding 12-1 lead in the all-time series against the Wildcats.
West Chester was in action on Saturday evening vs Lincoln on day two of the CIAA/PSAC Challenge at Kutztown and cruised to a 22-point (97-75) victory over the Lions to improve to 2-0 on the year. In the first half, West Chester raced out to a quick 10-2 lead before Lincoln battled back to keep the game close throughout the first half. West Chester held a four-point lead heading to the halftime break, before stretching its lead to as many as 28 in the closing moments of the victory.
Robert Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) and
Jamil Manigo (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) led the team in scoring in this victory as Smith scored a game-high 28 while Manigo continued his impressive opening weekend turning in a 17-point scoring performance of his own in the victory. As a team, West Chester shot 43.8 % (32-for-73) from the field and 38.1 % (8-for-21) from three-point range while also going 25-for-33 (75.8 %) from the charity stripe in the victory. The Golden Rams also ended the contest with an impressive 53-39 edge in rebounding and a +4 (15-11) edge in the turnover battle.
Entering play on Sunday afternoon, West Chester enters play with four players averaging north of 10 points per game, led by Smith and Manigo who average 19.0 and 16.0 points per game, respectively.
Kyle McGee (Jersey City, N.J./St. Mary's of the Assumption) and
Matt Dade (Collegeville, Pa./Episcopal Academy) rank second and third on the team in scoring, averaging 12.0 and 11.0 points per game, respectively. Smith also leads the team in field goal percentage, shooting a blistering 77.8 % from the field while
Josh Samec (Tresckow, Pa./Hazleton Area) ranks second, shooting 63.6 % from the field.
Dade and McGee also rank first and second on the team in rebounding averaging 8.0 and 7.5 rebounds per game, while Dade is also tied with
Malik Slay (Philadelphia, Pa./Downingtown East) for the team lead in assists with 5.0 per game. For his part, McGee also leads the team in steals per game averaging 1.5 steals per contest to this point in the season.
As a team, West Chester is averaging an impressive 91.0 points per game, outscoring its opponents by an average of 18.0 points per game while also shooting 47.2 % from the field as a unit. From three-point range, West Chester has shot an impressive 42.1 % on the year while also shooting 73.8 % from the line. In addition to its hot shooting to open the season, West Chester also carries a +8.5 advantage (44.5-36.0) in rebounding while also holding a slim +1.5 edge in the turnover battle, forcing opponents into an average of 14.5 turnovers per game while committing just 13 of its own through the first two games.
West Chester's foe, Wilmington will be playing its second game in as many days when the two teams come together on Sunday afternoon as the Wildcats hosted and defeated Bowie State at 4 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. Entering the weekend, Wilmington is 0-3 on the season after falling to St. Michael's, Assumption, and Shippensburg to open the season. In their most recent contest against Bowie State on Saturday afternoon, Wilmington and Bowie State traded points throughout much of the early going but it was Wilmington who carried a 50-32 lead into the halftime break. Bowie State attempted to mount a comeback late in the second half, outscoring its hosts 46-38 in the half but the early lead was enough to allow the Wildcats to earn their first victory of the season by a 88-78 final. Thomas, who is the Wildcats leading scorer led all scorers with 23 in the victory while four other Wildcats ended their nights in double figures as well.
For the season, Thomas and Rickards are the Wildcats leading scorers, averaging 16.5 and 13.7 points per game, respectively while Danny Cooper is third on the squad in scoring, averaging 10.7 points per contest. Thomas is also Wilmington's leading rebounder and distributor, averaging 7.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per contest entering the weekend.
Overall, Wilmington is averaging 70.5 points per game while its opponents score an average of 78.0 points per game to this point in the season. From the field, the Wildcats are shooting just 41.1 % on the year including a 30.8 % three-point shooting percentage. Additionally, the team is averaging just 35.3 rebounds per contest, as they enter play on the weekend with a -10.5 rebounding margin for the season.
Following this contest, West Chester will have a quick turnaround as the Golden Rams will return to action on Tuesday evening at home against Chestnut Hill with that contest set to begin at 7 p.m. inside Hollinger Field House.
