KUTZTOWN, Pa.- After being off for 26 days until they faced Mansfield at home on Saturday afternoon, the Golden Rams will now begin a stretch in which it will play three games a week for the next three weeks, with their next two-game week not coming until early February when they play only twice (2/9 & 2/12), beginning with its game at Kutztown on Monday afternoon.
West Chester and Kutztown have an extensive history with one another, which can be traced back as far as the 1940s. West Chester holds a 76-40 lead in the all-time series after splitting the 2019-20 series, with each team earning a victory away from home. Recent history inside the 3,400 seat Keystone Arena has been kind to the Golden Rams as the Purple and Gold are a perfect 5-0 in this building over their last five trips, including a pair of victories over Elizabeth City State and Lincoln to open the 2021-22 season. Additionally, the first game after the Division II Holiday Break has been favorable for head coach Damien Blair and his Golden Rams over his tenure, going 8-4 in such games with a three-game winning streak, including a pair of victories over Kutztown during the 2017-18 and 18-19 seasons.
In 2019-20, West Chester and Kutztown split the season series, with each team coming away with a win on the road. After falling to Kutztown at home earlier in the year, West Chester bounced back with an 85-82 comeback victory over the Golden Bears inside Keystone Arena. Matt Dade, who was only a freshman at the time, hit the eventual go-ahead basket with 55 seconds left, making the score 81-79, and also gave the Purple and Gold a lead they would never relinquish. Dade ended the day third on the team in scoring with 16 points as the team's leading returning scorer from this matchup two years ago.
On Saturday afternoon, West Chester returned to action for its first game in 26 days and showed some signs of rust throughout the game, shooting just over 41.0 % percent from the field and just 28.0 % from three-point range to earn a narrow PSAC East victory over Mansfield. West Chester trailed for much of the game, but a late run, capped off by big free throws from freshman guard Cam Polak was enough to allow West Chester to earn a 99-97 victory and avoid the upset. Despite the poor shooting statistics as a team, West Chester still had five players score in double figures, marking the third time this season that five or more players have scored in double figures led by a 21-point effort from freshman guard Robert Smith. Elijah Allen also turned in a stellar Golden Ram debut, scoring 15 points while coming away with eight rebounds and five assists in the comeback victory.
Bench scoring continues to be a strong point for the Golden Rams this season, as West Chester's bench has outscored its opponents second unit in 10 of 11 games this season and has done so by 10 or more points in nine of those 10 games. Over the course of its 10 games in 2021, West Chester holds an impressive 374-181 advantage and has allowed an opponent's bench to eclipse the 20-point barrier against them just three times so far this season.
With Allen's impressive debut on Saturday afternoon, it continues a recurring theme for the Golden Rams this year of its newcomers making a substantial difference early in their Golden Ram careers. Smith, who led the team in scoring once again on Saturday, announced his presence with authority early this season, pouring in a game-high (and still single-game team-high) 28 points vs Lincoln in just the second game of his collegiate career. Saturday's hero-Cam Polak, also remains tied for second on the team in single-game high scoring after pouring in an impressive 23 points at Seton Hill during the month of December to help West Chester to its first of three PSAC victories on the year. Jamil Manigo and Moro Osumanu have also turned in high-impact performances for West Chester during their rookie campaigns, as Manigo has scored in double figures in seven games, with one double-double to his credit, while Osumanu has eclipsed the 10-point plateau twice already during his rookie campaign.
Kutztown enters Monday's matchup after giving No. 7 Mercyhurst all it could handle on Saturday afternoon inside Keystone Arena before falling by a 79-71 final. Kutztown maintained a lead for much of the game and led 50-39 with just over 10 minutes to play in regulation but Mercyhurst, closed the game on a 18-3 run a span of 5:44 seconds to erase the deficit and claim a lead it would never relinquish. On Saturday, Jalen Bryant and Michael Smith III had big days for Kutztown, combining for 50 of the Golden Bears 71 points with Bryant pouring a career-high 23 while Smith III had 17 points. The two traded off throughout the game as Bryant had a big first half, scoring 16 of his 23 throughout the opening 20 minutes while Smith scored 15 of his 17 in the second half of basketball in the setback.
For Kutztown, who has been averaging 75.9 points per game to open the season, junior guard Wesley Butler has been the Golden Bear's leading scorer, averaging 17.5 points per game while also leading the team in assists averaging 3.0 helpers per contest. Butler is also currently second on the team in rebounding, averaging 5.1 rebounds per game, which is trailing only Channick Nkoma, who leads the team averaging 6.1 per game. Nkoma and Butler's rebounding efforts have enabled the Golden Bear's to hold a slim +1.1 rebounding advantage over its foes this season, averaging 37.5 while allowing an average of 36.4. One area in which Kutztown may hold an edge over West Chester is in the turnover battle as the Golden Bears do enter play with a narrow +0.6 turnover margin as compared to the Golden Rams -2.0 margin through 11 games this season. Butler and Bryant have been defensive problems for opposing offenses so far this season, ranking first and second on the squad in steals per game, averaging 1.6 and 1.5 per game, respectively.
Following this game, West Chester will return home on Wednesday evening to host Millersville an a crucial PSAC East clash before returning to the road on Saturday afternoon with a visit to Bloomsburg.
