EAST STROUDSBURG-The West Chester men's basketball team (9-6, 4-6 PSAC) returned to action on the road on Monday evening at East Stroudsburg (10-5, 8-3 PSAC), falling to the Warriors in a close game by a final of 73-69.
West Chester and East Stroudsburg traded makes through the first few minutes of regulation, as the Golden Rams trailed 8-7 with 15:11 to play in the first half following a made jumper by
Jamil Manigo (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt). Following this make, ESU went on a 22-7 run over the next eight minutes to take a commanding 30-14 lead, which would be its largest lead of the evening.
In the waning minutes of the first half, West Chester outscored its hosts 19-9 led by six points from
Eli Barrett (Harrisburg, Pa./Harrisburg) to close the deficit to just six 39-33 heading into the halftime break.
In the second half, East Stroudsburg started quickly, scoring nine of the first 13 points of the half to take a 48-37 with 18:20 to play in regulation. West Chester surged back with another run, capped off by a step-back jumper from
Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover) with 13:29 to play, closing to just four points (54-50).
The Golden Rams kept the game tight over the next few minutes, trailing by as few as three points in the waning moments of regulation but East Stroudsburg was able to go 1-for-2 at the line with just 10 seconds to play to stretch the lead to 73-69, which the Warriors would go on to win by.
Manigo and
Matt Dade (Collegeville, Pa./Episcopal Academy) tied for the team lead in scoring, ending the night with 13 points each while
Kyle McGee (Jersey City, N.J./.St. Mary's of the Assumption) collected a team-high 10 rebounds and narrowly missed a double-double finishing with eight points in the setback.
As a team, West Chester shot just 40.9 % (27-of-66) from the field and 45.5 % (5-of-11) from three-point range while also going 10-of-13 (76.9 %) from the charity stripe. Despite the loss, West Chester ended the game with an impressive 42-31 advantage in rebounding thanks in large part to a 15-5 advantage on the offensive glass, as the Golden Rams continue to prove show themselves as among the nation's elite in offensive rebounding.
For East Stroudsburg, Justin Paz led four Warriors in double figures with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting along with three assists and a pair of rebounds in the victory. As a team, East Stroudsburg shot 43.1 % (25-of-58) from the field and 6-of-20 (30.0 %) from beyond the arc while also going 17-of-21 (81.0 %) from the line.
East Stroudsburg also ended the game with a +4 edge in the turnover battle and a corresponding 23-13 edge in points off turnovers to earn the victory over the visiting Golden Rams.
West Chester will look to bounce back and avoid a losing streak on Wednesday evening at home against Lock Haven with that contest set to begin at 7:30 p.m. in its final home game of January as the team will close the month with visits to Mansfield and Shepherd.
