WEST CHESTER, Pa.- West Chester (3-0) led for much of the game and never trailed by more than a basket but it was late 10-0 run by the Golden Rams, which put the game away and lifted the WCU to a 85-78 victory over Virginia State (2-1) on Wednesday night. The Golden Rams 85-point outburst on Wednesday night, which was a balanced effort as the team scored 42 points in the first half before notching another 43 in the second half, marked the largest point total, which Virginia State has allowed this season after holding Millersville and Shippensburg to 72 and 76, respectively.
Robert Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) scored 13 second-half points, going 6-of-11 from the field in the second-half to finish with 21 points while
Kyle McGee (Jersey City, N.J./St. Mary's of the Assumption) led all scorers with a game and career-high 25 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field and a 9-of-14 performance from the line. McGee also led the team in rebounding with seven rebounds while
Eli Barrett (Harrisburg, Pa./Harrisburg) and Moro Osumanu (Reading, Pa./Reading) each registered five rebounds including a number late in the came to secure the victory. Offensively, Osumanu came up big for West Chester down the stretch, going a perfect 6-for-6 from the line in the final moments of regulation to help West Chester hold off the late-game charge by Virginia State.
With this win, West Chester extends its home opener winning streak to nine in a row, having not dropped a home opener since the 2012-13 season while also increasing Coach Blair's winning streak vs the CIAA to eight in a row dating back to the 2015 season.
West Chester trailed only briefly in the first half, finding itself down by two points just one minute into the contest, before countering with a run of its own to take a 13-8 lead into the first media timeout.
As the opening half continued, West Chester stretched its lead to as many as 11 with 3:08 to play in the opening half after a deep three by
Kyle McGee (Jersey City, N.J./St. Mary's of the Assumption) as part of his 17-point first half.
This opening-half effort led to West Chester carrying a 42-34 lead into the halftime break, leading for the third time in as many games and holding its second largest halftime lead of the season while the Trojans 34 first-half points are second lowest by any opponent this season, just one point over the season-low 33 first-half points scored by Lincoln in the season-opening win.
As a team, West Chester shot an impressive 60.9 % (14-of-23) from the field and 50.0 % (4-of-8) from beyond the arc while holding the Trojans to just 40.0 % (10-of-25) shooting rom the field and 33.3 % (2-of-6) from beyond the arc.
In addition to McGee's 17-point first half,
Robert Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) also scored eight points on 2-of-3 shooting from beyond the arc before early half foul trouble led to him seeing limited minutes down the stretch of the first half.
For Virginia State, Francis Fitzgerald led the way in scoring with nine points on 3-of-7 shooting from the field and 2-for-2 effort at the line while the Trojan's leading scorer entering play on Wednesday night, Terrence Hunter-Whitfield was held to just seven points in the first 20 minutes of basketball.
In the second half, West Chester continued to hold on to its lead, stretching it to nine points just ahead of the first media timeout of the first half thanks to a wing three by Smith off a feed from
Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover).
Over the next four minutes, West Chester struggled to regain its shooting stroke, shooting just 1-for-5 from the field as Virginia State battled its way back into the game, trailing by just one (56-55) with 11:47 to play in regulation.
With just over 10 minutes to play in the second half, Virginia State took its largest lead of the game at that point, taking a 59-56 lead following a fast break dunk before eventually holding a narrow 70-68 lead with 5:48 to play in regulation before going on a 10-0 run, which included a 3-for-4 effort from the field and a perfect 4-for-4 from the line to take a 78-68 lead, which the Golden Rams would never relinquish en route to a 85-78 victory over Virginia State to improve to 3-0 on the year.
West Chester ended the game shooting 51.9 % (27-of-52) from the field and 37.5 % (6-of-16) from three while also shooting 75.8 % (25-of-33) from the line in the seven-point win on Wednesday night.
The Golden Rams outshot their guests in all three categories, holding Virginia State to just 43.5 % shooting from the field, 20.0 % from deep (including a 14.3 % second-half effort) and a 58.8 % (20-34) performance at the charity stripe.
Fitzgerald, who led the Trojans with nine points in the first half, finished as the team's leading scorer with 15 points as one of five Trojans in double figures in the loss. Hunter-Whitfield, who had entered play on Wednesday night as the team's leading scorer, averaging 16.5 points per game, was also kept in check by the Golden Ram defense, scoring just 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting from the field, including a 1-of-8 effort from deep while going a perfect 3-for-3 at the line.
West Chester outrebounded its opponent for the third game in a row to open the season, ending the contest with a 38-36 lead on the glass, including a crucial 31-22 advantage on the defensive glass, which helped lead to a 14-6 advantage in second-chance points against a team who had been averaging 14.5 second-chance points per game entering play on Wednesday night.
West Chester did lose the turnover battle on Wednesday night by a 22-18 margin, however, the Golden Rams managed to end the game tied with VSU in points off turnovers at 17-17 while winning the fast-break point battle with a 19-13 edge in this category.
Up Next:
West Chester is slated to return to action next Monday night vs Wilmington beginning at 7 p.m. in the second game of its season-long six-game home stand.
