WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Following a pair of victories over the weekend, including an OT win on Friday night over Lincoln and a season-best 93-point effort on Saturday afternoon vs Elizabeth City State, the West Chester men's basketball team (2-0) returns home on Wednesday night to host Virginia State (2-0) in its 2022-23 home opener.
The Matchup
This evening's matchup is believed to be the first meeting in program history between the two Atlantic Regional foes and is certainly the first meeting in head coach
Damien Blair's tenure at the helm. Virginia State will be the Golden Rams third CIAA opponent in a row to open the season. Coach Blair has a career record of 8-3 against the CIAA, including an impressive seven-game winning streak against those opponents, which includes the two victories over Lincoln and ECSU last weekend.
Home openers have been a source of comfort for West Chester in recent years, playing to a mark of 8-0 in its last eight home openers, not dropping its first home game of the season since the 2012-13 season, which was a narrow 62-61 setback against Chestnut Hill.
Fan Information
Fan's are reminded of the updated ticket prices for the 2022-23 season with single-game century club tickets being $20 with single-game adult tickets being $10 and children/senior tickets being $5 with WCU students being admitted free of charge with current, valid ID.
Flock Talk
West Chester enters play riding a two-game winning streak after sweeping the opening weekend of action for the third year in a row earning a 93-83 win over Elizabeth City State on Saturday afternoon. West Chester trailed for only a minute in this contest, falling behind by a point early in the second half before going on another run, which eventually stretched the West Chester lead to 13 points, its largest lead of the game with 2:33 to play in regulation.
Robert Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) who led the team in scoring on Friday night vs Lincoln led the way once again with 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting, including a 4-for-6 effort from deep.
Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover) and
Kyle McGee (Jersey City, N.J./St. Mary's of the Assumption) also finished in double figures, scoring 22 and 17, respectively to help West Chester improve to 2-0.
West Chester has had eight players score in double figures over its first two games, with five different players scoring in double figures on Friday and three more on Saturday afternoon. Smith, McGee, and Allen have all scored in double figures in both games while
Eli Barrett (Harrisburg, Pa./Harrisburg) and
Anthony Purnell Jr. (Chester, Pa./Kiski Area) both scored in double figures in the season opener on Friday night. With his hot start to the season, Smith is the team's leading scorer entering play on Wednesday night, averaging 23.0 points per game while teammates Allen and McGee are second and third, averaging 16.5 and 16.0 points per game, respectively. McGee also ranks atop the team leaderboard in assists, averaging 4.0 per game while also ranking in a tie for second on the team in steals with Allen at 0.5 per game.
Newcomer,
Joshua Walker (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist) is tied with
Moro Osumanu (Reading, Pa./Reading) for first on the team in rebounding, averaging 8.5 rebounds per game in a continuation of what was an area of strength for the Golden Rams a season ago. West Chester ranked atop the PSAC and among the best in Division II in rebounding for most of last season and that appears to be the case once again in the early going of the 2022 season, averaging 40.0 rebounds per game, at a margin of +8.5 through the opening two games of the season.
If there is one area the Golden Rams may want to pay special attention to heading into the next few games it would be the turnover battle, West Chester is averaging 14.5 turnovers through its first two games of the year, losing that battle by an average of 2.5 per game, due in large part to 17 turnovers charged against them in the season-opening win over Lincoln.
Scouting Virginia State
While West Chester enters play on Wednesday evening riding the positive momentum of a pair of wins over CIAA opponents last weekend, Virginia State enters on a similar high after defeating a pair of PSAC opponents in Millersville and Shippensburg to open the season last weekend as well. In the Trojans second game of the weekend vs Shippensburg, Zach Newkirk scored a team-high 19 points to help lead Virginia State, who shot .490 as a team to a76-71 victory, erasing a four-point halftime deficit to earn the win. Newkirk was one of four players in double figures in the victory, joined by Terrence Hunter Whitfield, who charts as the team's top scorer, averaging 16.5 points per game while Newkirk is second at 14.0 points per game. Francis Fitzgerald, who led the team in rebounding in the victory over Shippensburg with six, has been the top rebounder so far this season, averaging 4.5 per game, which is matched by Stephan Morris, who is in a tie for first in this category.
In addition to the scoring threat posed by Whitfield and Newkirk, opponents must also be careful for the other elements of their respective games, which are just as strong. Hunter-Whitfield, came away with three steals in the way over Shippensburg, averaging 3.0 steals per game through the first two games of the year while Newkirk, who was limited to just two assists, leads the team in assists with 5.5 per game entering play on Wednesday night.
As a team, Virginia State has relied more heavily on its defense thus far this season, holding opponents to an average of just 67.0 points per game, holding opponents to just .26.5 % shooting from deep so far this season. On the offensive end, Virginia State has averaged 74.0 points per game, shooting 51.5 % from the field and 38.8 % from beyond the arc, while also outrebounding its opponents by a plus-three (30.5-27.5) margin over that span, leading to 29 second-chance points for the Trojans over that span.
Up Next
Wednesday night's game is the first of a six-game home stand for the Golden Rams, which will see West Chester play at home through December 8
th vs Holy Family. Next up for the Golden Rams in a matchup next Monday night vs Wilmington beginning at 7 p.m.
