WEST CHESTER, Pa.- The West Chester men's basketball team (5-1, 0-1 PSAC) returned to action on Friday evening following an undefeated month of November against Pitt-Johnstown (5-2, 1-0 PSAC) in the PSAC opener for both sides. West Chester battled throughout and led for a portion of the first half but visiting Mountain Cats had other ideas as Pitt-Johnstown escaped with a 78-70 victory on Friday night.
West Chester and Pitt-Johnstown traded runs throughout the early going as the Golden Rams and Mountain Cats were locked at 19-19 with 9:12 to play in the opening half. West Chester went on a 5-1 run over the next two minutes of play to take a 24-20 lead with just under eight minutes to play, which would also be the team's largest lead of the half.
In the final 7:57 of the first half, Pitt-Johnstown outscored its hosts by a 15-10 margin to carry a 35-30 lead into the halftime break.
Through the opening 20 minutes,
Kyle McGee (Jersey City, N.J./St. Mary's of the Assumption) led all scorers with 13 points while
Robert Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) scored 11 points of his own in the first half.
As a team, West Chester shot poorly through the opening 20 minutes, shooting just 32.4 % (12-of-37) from the field while going just 3-for-15 (20.0 %) from beyond the arc. McGee accounted for all three made three pointers in the first half while also tying for the first half lead in rebounding with
Matt Dade (Collegeville, Pa/Episcopal Academy) and Caiden Landis of Pitt-Johnstown with five rebounds each in the opening half.
To open the second half, Pitt-Johnstown opened by outscoring the Golden Rams by a 9-7 margin to extend its lead to 44-37 with 15:30 to play in regulation. Over the course of the next five minutes, Pitt-Johnstown continued to maintain its lead, as the Mountain Cats held a 53-45 lead with just over 10:30 minutes to play in regulation.
As the clock ticked under 10 minutes, UPJ took its largest lead of the game (14 points-59-45). Pitt-Johnstown maintained its lead around the 10-point mark throughout much of the remainder of the second half as the Mountain Cats. West Chester attempted to battle back into things late in the contest, cutting the deficit to as few as six points with just 11 seconds to play when
Malik Slay (Philadelphia, Pa./Downingtown West) knocked down a corner three off an inbounds play to make the score 76-70 late but UPJ was able to hold on for a narrow 78-70 victory to open PSAC play on Friday evening.
McGee registered his second double-double of the year on Friday night, scoring 16 points while also coming away with a game-high 11 rebounds while Dade narrowly missed his fourth consecutive double-double, ending with 10 points and eight rebounds. Smith turned in another strong effort as well, finishing with 15 points on 6-of-18 shooting from the field in the setback.
As a team, West Chester shot poorly from the field and from deep, shooting just 35.1 % (26-for-74) from the field and 25.9 % (7-for-27) from three-point land. The Golden Rams were effective from the line in their limited trips to the stripe, going 11-of-12 (91.7 %) on the night.
Pitt-Johnstown, who entered the play averaging 86.3 points per game was held well below its season average, as the Golden Rams played tough defense throughout the night holding the Mountain Cats to just 47.5 % (28-of-59) from the field and a performance of just 12.5 % (1-for-8) from three-point range.
Fred Mulbah had a big night for UPJ, ending with a game-high 27 points on 9-of-15 shooting and a 9-for-14 effort from the charity stripe while the Mountain Cats leading scorer entering the game-John Paul Kromka (averaging 16.8/G), poured in 19 on 8-of-12 shooting while also registering 13 rebounds (10 defensive rebounds) to come away with a double-double of his own.
Pitt-Johnstown ended the contest with a big 54-28 advantage in points in the paint, however, West Chester did manage to end the game with a 15-4 lead in second-chance points, a 16-8 lead in fast break points, and a 25-4 advantage in bench points, thanks in large part to the 15-point effort from Smith.
Despite the setback, West Chester did manage to outrebound its guests once again, ending the night with a 46-38 (+8) advantage on the class en route to the victory.
West Chester will have little time to concern itself with tonight's setback as the Golden Rams are back in action tomorrow night vs No. 7/3 IUP inside Hollinger Field House with that contest beginning at 7:30 p.m.
