WEST CHESTER, Pa.- The West Chester men's basketball team (8-3, 3-3 PSAC) returned to action for its first game in 26 days at home against Mansfield (1-14, 0-9 PSAC). The visiting Mounties gave the Golden Rams all they could handle but West Chester used a late game surge, which saw the Purple and Gold outscore their guests 13-6 in the final moments of regulation to escape with a 99-97 victory.
In the early going of the first half, West Chester and Mansfield traded makes as the Golden Rams trailed 5-4 with just over two minutes played. The Golden Rams followed this up with a quick 9-1 run to carry a 13-6 lead into the first media timeout.
Mansfield countered with a quick 11-4 run to tie the score at 17-17 with 13:42 remaining in the opening half. As the clock ticked under 10 minutes to play in the first half, Mansfield continued its run, outscoring the Golden Rams 13-4 to hold a 30-21 lead with 9:49 to play in the half.
West Chester, who would trail by as many 12 with 7:57 remaining in the opening frame, cut into the deficit in the late stages of the half, trailing by as few as six points with just under one minute to play in the first half but a late basket by Mansfield allowed the upset-minded Mounties to carry a 51-43 lead into the halftime break.
In the first half, West Chester shot 35.0 % (14-of-40) from the field and 4-for-15 (26.7 %) from beyond the arc while also shooting just 11-of-17 (64.7 %) from the line through the opening 20 minutes. Despite the slow start from the field,
Robert Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) remained unaffected by the Golden Rams shooting woes, shooting 50.0 % from the field 3-of-4 from beyond the arc to lead the team in scoring at the halftime break with 11 points.
For Mansfield, Justice Smith continued his torrent start to his collegiate career, scoring 12 points in the first half while shooting 5-of-10 from the field and a perfect 2-for-2 from the line. As a unit, Mansfield shot 19-for-38 (50.0 %) from the field and 4-of-11 (36.4 %) from beyond the arc while going a nearly-perfect 9-of-10 from the line through the opening 20 minutes.
To open the second half, West Chester went on a 9-5 run to cut the deficit back down to six points with 17:51 to play and prompt a Mansfield timeout.
Over the next two minutes, West Chester continued to cut into the deficit, trailing by just two points (59-57) with 15:46 to play. Mansfield went on a brief run following this, but the Golden Rams stayed within striking distance, trailing by just five points (70-65) with 11:55 to play in regulation.
Moments later, Smith brought West Chester back even for the first time since the early stages of the first half with a corner three, tying the score at 70-70. Mansfield countered this with an 11-4 run over the next minute and a half to take an 81-74 lead.
Over the course of the next minute, West Chester outscored its guests 8-4 to trail by just three (85-82) with 6:42 to play. Mansfield maintained a slim lead until just 1:47 remained in regulation when
Kyle McGee (Jersey City, N.J./St. Mary's of the Assumption) knocked down one of two free throws to give West Chester back a 94-93 lead.
With just 20 seconds left, Mansfield held a narrow 97-96 lead before
Cam Polak (Munhall, Pa./Steel Valley) eventually evened the score and gave West Chester the victory in the waning moments of regulation knocking down three free throws with just one second on the clock to give the Golden Rams a 99-97 lead. Mansfield took a three-quarter court shot in the final second of regulation but the shot fell off the back of the rim to allow West Chester to escape with a 99-97 victory.
Smith ended the day as the Golden Rams leading scorer with 21 points as one of five Golden Rams in double figures. Fellow Bishop McDevitt product
Jamil Manigo ended the game with 15 points of his own, tying with newcomer
Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover) who made his Golden Ram debut for second on the team in scoring in the victory. In his Golden Ram debut, Allen matched his previous career-high, which he set as a Wagner Seahawk with a 15-point effort at Bryant in December 2020 while his eight rebounds and five assists both also set new career-highs for the Golden Rams newest threat.
The game's hero Polak and
Matt Dade (Collegeville, Pa./Episcopal Academy) also ended in double figures with 11 points each. This balanced scoring effort marked the fourth time this season and the third time in the last four games in which West Chester had five players in double figures and it is the seventh time this season that Smith has led the Golden Rams in scoring while also being his third game with 20 points or more.
Manigo also led the team in rebounding with nine rebounds while Allen chipped in eight rebounds to go along with a team-high five assists.
For Mansfield, Smith led the way in scoring with 27 points on an impressive 11-of-19 shooting while Marcus Friend and Jaz Farrell poured in 17 points each in the setback.
As a team, West Chester shot 41.0 % (32-of-78) from the field while going just 7-of-25 (28.0 %) from three-point range and 28-for-38 (73.7 %) from the line in the comeback victory. For its part, Mansfield ended the game with a 49.3 % field-goal percentage and a 41.2 % three-point shooting percentage while also shooting a solid 81.8 % from the line in the setback.
While the Golden Rams were outshot in all three major percentage categories, they did end the game with advantages in points off turnovers (17-13), points in the paint (42-38), second-chance points (23-16), and points off the bench (39-20).
With this victory, West Chester extended its winning streak over Mansfield to eight games while also allowing head coach
Damien Blair to improve to 9-4 in games following the break. The Golden Rams also continued their dominance inside Hollinger Field House, registering their 105
th win inside the friendly confines since the 2011-12 season, while also evening their home court record on the year to 2-2 entering an important week of basketball next week.
West Chester has a busy week ahead and it will begin with a quick turnaround as the team returns to action quickly with a visit to Kutztown on Monday afternoon in a rescheduled game beginning at 3 p.m. This game will be the first of three on the week as West Chester also returns to action at home on Wednesday night against Millersville beginning at 7:30 before visiting Bloomsburg on Saturday the 22
nd.
