SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.V.- For the West Chester men's basketball team, the month of January has been a decidedly up and down month for the Golden Rams as they enter play on Monday night at Shepherd with a mark of 3-4 on the month following a loss at Mansfield on Saturday afternoon. This evening's game will be the first of two games this week against Shepherd as the Rams will visit Hollinger on Wednesday night beginning at 7:30 to conclude the season series between the two teams.
The Series
In stark contrast to the Golden Rams history vs other members of the PSAC, West Chester and Shepherd have met just six times in their respective histories with the first meeting coming on December 5, 1997, which the Golden Rams won by a final score of 66-61 while the Rams won the most recent meeting on February 12, 2020 by a final score of 83-78. All told, West Chester is 4-2 against Shepherd, after splitting the 2019-20 season series, earning a victory on its home floor in January 2020 by a final score of 84-77.
In the most recent meeting, neither West Chester nor Shepherd was ever able to establish a double-digit lead as the game went to the halftime break even at 38-38 before Shepherd escaped with the five-point 83-78 victory. The Golden Rams had the score tied at 66-66 with eight minutes left but Shepherd eventually retook the lead with 6:47 to play and never relinquished this advantage en route to the five-point win.
Matt Dade was one of three Golden Rams in double figures in this game with 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting, entering play on Monday as the leading returning scorer for the Golden Rams from the last meeting. For Shepherd, Thomas Lang led the way in scoring with 18 points as one of four Rams in double figures while Kyle Daggett narrowly missed a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds in the victory.
Flock Talk
West Chester enters play on Monday looking to erase the memory of a narrow 94-90 loss at Mansfield on Saturday afternoon. In this contest, West Chester never led and trailed by as many as 20 points early in the second half before West Chester began its comeback effort. The Golden Rams erased most of this 20-point deficit, trailing by just one point (91-90) following a successful, old-fashioned three-point play from
Jamil Manigo (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) with under one minute to play in regulation. Unfortunately, this is as close as the Golden Rams would get as the host Mountaineers scored the final three points of the game to earn a narrow 94-90 victory and snap an eight-game losing streak vs the Purple and Gold.
Matt Dade (Collegeville, Pa./Episcopal Academy) turned in another double-double performance, finishing with 16 points and 12 rebounds while
Robert Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) led the squad in scoring with 20 points on a team-best 7-of-12 shooting. Manigo, who nearly brought the Golden Rams back in the closing seconds, ended with 16 points while
Josh Samec (Tresckow, Pa./Hazleton Area) chipped in 14 of his own to round out the Golden Rams in double figures.
Dade, who was named to the Philadelphia Small College Basketball Coaches Weekly Honor Roll last Wednesday for his efforts the week prior, turned in another outstanding week for the Golden Rams, leading the team in rebounding and being among the top scorers for the squad as he has done frequently throughout the season, highlighted by a double-double to conclude the week at Mansfield. For the week, Dade averaged 13.3 points per game and 9.3 rebounds per game as a steady force for the Purple and Gold. Smith once again had the honor of being the week's leading scorer for the Golden Rams, averaging 15.3 points per game thanks in large part to a 20-point effort at Mansfield on Saturday afternoon.
Scouting Shepherd
Shepherd enters play on Monday evening to conclude what has been and up and down month for the Rams as well, going 3-3 on the month with a win in their last game vs Lock Haven on Saturday night. In this contest, Kyle Daggett turned in game-highs in points and rebounding with 28 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Rams to a 79-60 victory over Lock Haven. Shepherd trailed only briefly early in the game, as Lock Haven held a six-point lead with just under four minutes gone before coming back to hold a 38-28 lead heading into the halftime break. This 10-point advantage grew in the second half as Shepherd outscored its guests 41-32 in the final 20 minutes of basketball to earn a nine-point win. Daggett was one of four Rams in double figures as Jon Preston (20), Cam Stephens (12), and Phillip Jordan (12) all ended in double figures as well in the victory. As a team, Shepherd shot well from the field, shooting 54.7 % from the floor, including over 50 % shooting in each half while shooting 47.6 % from deep in the victory.
Shepherd enters play as one of the PSACs top defensive units, ranking second in points allowed per game, trailing only IUP while West Chester enters play with the top scoring offense in the PSAC, setting up an interesting battle, which will be played out over the course of the week between the top offensive unit in the league and one of the best defensive teams in the league. On the offensive end, Kyle Daggett has been one of the most consistent players for the Rams this year, leading the team in scoring (15.8/G), rebounding (8.1/G), and blocks (0.8/G) while Cam Stephens has done a good job of backing up Daggett, ranking second on the squad in scoring (11.2/G), while leading the team in assists (5.2/G), and steals (1.6/G).
Up Next
West Chester will return home to begin a two-game homestand on Wednesday evening vs Shepherd with that contest set to begin at 7:30 p.m.
