WEST CHESTER, Pa.- The West Chester men's basketball team (9-6, 4-6 PSAC) continues an exceptionally busy stretch of play on Wednesday evening when the Golden Rams host Lock Haven inside Hollinger Field House beginning at 7:30 p.m. This second-game of the doubleheader between the Golden Rams and Bald Eagles, with the women's game set to begin at 5:30 p.m. will be the final January home game for West Chester as the teams don't return home until next Wednesday, February 2
nd.
Fan Information
As a reminder, all spectators, regardless of vaccination status, are required to wear a mask when attending any indoor athletic contests inside Hollinger Field house. Masking by all spectators in attendance creates the safest possible atmosphere for the student-athletes, coaches, staff, team representatives, officials, and all other spectators.
The Series
West Chester and Lock Haven are known to have met 39 times in their respective histories, with West Chester finding itself on the winning end of 30 of those matchups. In recent years, dating back to the 2008 season, West Chester has gone 16-5 vs its northern adversaries, including taking two of three from the Bald Eagles a season ago.
In the 2019-20 season, Lock Haven halted a four-game losing streak vs West Chester at home to open the season series before the Golden Rams countered with a home win of their own and a win in the First Round of the PSAC Tournament early in March. In the PSAC Tournament matchup between the two squads, Lock Haven held its largest lead of the game (27-19) with just over 10 minutes to play in the first half before
Josh Samec (Tresckow, Pa./Hazleton Area) drained a three, which sparked a 12-0 run and allowed West Chester to erase the deficit and eventually carry a 40-34 lead into the halftime break. Lock Haven kept things close throughout the second half but West Chester, led by a season-best 56.5 % three-point shooting effort held off the Bald Eagles to earn a 83-73 victory. Robbie Heath led all scorers with 33 points while Samec came away with eight points and a team-high eight rebounds to also serve as the leading returning scorer from that game on the 2021-22 roster.
Flock Talk
On Monday evening, West Chester entered play looking to pick up its second win in a row, having defeated Bloomsburg on Saturday on the road as East Stroudsburg. West Chester led only briefly in this contest but was able to keep the game close throughout, trailing by as few as three points in the waning moments of regulation as East Stroudsburg escaped with a 73-69 victory over the visiting Golden Rams.
Matt Dade (Collegeville, Pa./Episcopal Academy) and
Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover) led the team in scoring in the setback, registering 13 points each while
Kyle McGee (Jersey City, N.J./St. Mary's of the Assumption) came away with a team-high 10 rebounds on the night. As a team, West Chester shot 40.9 % from the floor and 45.5 % from deep while also shooting 76.9 % from the line in the setback.
While the trio of Dade, McGee, and
Robert Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) have been difficult to contain throughout the season, routinely scoring in double figures and serving as the squad's three leading scorers, the job for opposing defenses got more difficult with the addition of
Elijah Allen. Allen, who played his first game as a Golden Ram on January 15
th vs Mansfield, has announced his presence with authority, scoring in double figures in four of his first five games, including a career-best 23-point effort in a road victory over Bloomsburg last Saturday evening.
As a team, West Chester remains one of the top offensive teams in the league, ranking third in the PSAC and first in the East in points per game, averaging 85.5 points per contest. Additionally, West Chester remains atop all of Division II in offensive rebounding, averaging 17.13 rebounds per contest, which has also helped the team to end the game with an advantage in second-chance points in 12 of 15 games this season.
Looking at Lock Haven
Lock Haven enters play on Wednesday evening after falling to Millersville at home on Monday night, dealing the Bald Eagles their 10
th setback of the season and third in as many games, falling to the Marauders by a 71-49 final. In this contest, Jesse McPherson tallied his second double-double in as many games, ending with 13 points and 11 rebounds but as the only player in double figures it was not enough to help his team overcome a first-half effort, which saw them muster just 15 points in the 22-point setback. As a team, Lock Haven shot just 19.35 % from the field in the first half and did not make a three before playing substantially better basketball in the second half, shooting 34.48 % from the field and 27.27 % from beyond the arc as the Bald Eagles attempted to mount a comeback in the setback against the Marauders.
Despite a poor offensive effort in its last contest, Lock Haven enters play in the middle of the league in scoring, averaging 71.9 points per game while shooting 42.8 % from the field and 32.6 % from three-point territory. McPherson, who is currently on a hot streak after tallying double-doubles in back-to-back games enters play third on the team in scoring, averaging 12.3 points per game while leading the team in rebounding with 6.9 rebounds per contest. Junior guard Mark Anthony Fidelis is the top scoring option for the Bald Eagles this season, averaging a team-best 14.4 points per game while DaQuan Granberry has shown himself a capable second option, averaging 13.6 points per contest.
Up Next
Following this contest, West Chester will visit Mansfield on Saturday afternoon, in a rematch of a tightly contested game from a few weeks ago, which saw West Chester escape with a narrow two-point victory before visiting Shepherd on Monday night to conclude the month of January.
