PHILADELPHIA, Pa.- Matt Dade (Collegeville, Pa./Episcopal Academy) registered his third double-double in as many games and was one of four Golden Rams in double figures with 13 points and 10 rebounds to help lead West Chester (5-0) to a 74-69 road victory over Holy Family (2-4).
Similarly to Tuesday evening in the home opener vs Chestnut Hill, West Chester and Holy Family engaged in a tight battle throughout the game, but it was a stifling defensive effort down the stretch from West Chester, which saw them hold Holy Family scoreless for the final 2:45 of play (1-for-7 from the field/1-for-11 from three-point range), which allowed the Golden Rams to earn the five-point victory.
Robert Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) led the Golden Rams in scoring while fellow newcomer and high school teammate
Jamil Manigo (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) was second on the squad in scoring with 15 points on a team-best 7-of-15 shooting from the field in the victory. Dade continued his hot streak with 13 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists while fellow sophomore
Kyle McGee (Jersey City, N.J./St. Mary's of the Assumption) rounded out the Golden Rams in double figures with 11 points in the victory.
Throughout the first 10 minutes of the contest, West Chester and Holy Family traded baskets as neither squad could establish a convincing lead over the other, which led to the Golden Rams holding a slim, one-point (22-21) lead with 9:47 to play in the opening half. With 1:12 to play until halftime,
Marcus Littles (Philadelphia, Pa./Neumann-Goretti) tipped home a
Jamil Manigo (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) miss to give West Chester its largest lead of the half, making the score 40-34. In the first half, Holy Family scored the final two points by either side to trim the deficit to 40-36, heading into the halftime break.
To start the second half, Holy Family scored the first basket of the half before West Chester answered with an 8-0 run to claim a 48-38 lead, which would be the Golden Rams largest lead of the contest with just over 17 minutes to play. However, Holy Family was not finished as the host Tigers countered with a 9-0 run over the next three minutes to draw back within one (48-47) with 14 minutes to play in regulation.
Following this run, the Golden Rams and Tigers resumed trading baskets before another brief Holy Family run gave the host Tigers their largest lead of the contest at 63-58 with just under seven minutes to play. Holy Family held on to its lead by a slim margin over the course of the next four-and-half minutes, until
Robert Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) connected on a three-pointer from longtime teammate Manigo with 2:26 to play to even the score at 69-69. With the score locked at 69-all, the Golden Ram defense stiffened as the Purple and Gold outscored their hosts 5-0 in the final minutes of regulation to escape with a narrow 74-69 non-league victory.
As a team, West Chester was 17-of-37 from the field in the first half and 27-for-66 (40.9 %) from the field for the game while also going 15-for-21 (71.4 %) from the line and 5-for-21 (23.8 %) from beyond the arc (four of five made three-pointers came in the second half of play-4-for-14).
The Golden Rams once again ended the game with the lead in rebounding, outrebounding the Tigers 52-39 while also outscoring their hosts by an 18-7 margin in second-chance points. The Golden Rams also ended the game with a 19-15 lead in points off turnovers, a 32-26 edge in points in the paint, and a 28-25 lead in bench points.
For Holy Family, Randolph and Robinson ended the game with the team and game-high for points, scoring 20 points each, but it was a poor 51.5 % (17-for-33) performance from the charity stripe, which spelled doom for the home-standing Tigers in the five-point setback.
West Chester will be back in action on Friday evening inside Hollinger Field House against Pitt-Johnstown at 7:30 p.m. in the first of two games on the weekend as perennial-power and Western Division rival IUP will visit Hollinger on Saturday night, with that game set to begin at 7:30 p.m. as well in the Golden Rams final home game of 2021.
