JOHNSTOWN, Pa.- Following a win over Holy Family last Thursday night to conclude non-league play with a mark of 5-1 in such contests, the West Chester men's basketball team (6-2, 1-1) shifts its attention back to league action this weekend vs. Pitt-Johnstown (5-3, 1-1) and #2/2 Indiana (Pa.) (IUP) (8-0, 2-0).
West Chester enters the weekend with revenge on its mind having fallen to both the Mountain Cats and Crimson Hawks in Hollinger to open PSAC crossover action a year ago.
Series History
West Chester leads the all-time series vs. Pitt-Johnstown by an 8-6 margin entering the 15th meeting all-time between the two foes. West Chester has won four of the last five meetings; however, the Golden Rams are entering off a loss in December 2021, which snapped a four-game winning streak vs. the Mountain Cats. In this game, which was the Golden Rams PSAC opener, West Chester battled throughout the night, but West Chester was unable to come back from a halftime deficit in the 78-70 setback vs. the Mountain Cats.
Historically against IUP, the Crimson Hawks hold a 19-9 lead in the all-time series, having won each of the last four meetings between the two squads. West Chester enjoyed a three-game winning streak vs. the Crimson Hawks from the 2015-16 season through the 2017-18 season; however, IUP halted that streak in December 2018 and has won each of the last four since.
Flock Talk
West Chester wrapped up its non-league slate last Thursday night vs Holy Family and cruised to an 80-60 victory to improve to 6-2 and finish the homestand 4-2. West Chester never trailed in this contest, leading by as many as 20 points late in the first half before carrying a 17-point lead into the halftime break. The second half was more of the same as Holy Family attempted to mount a comeback, but West Chester squashed that idea, eventually extending the lead back to 20 in the non-league triumph.
Robert Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) finished with a team-high 23 points, while
Kyle McGee (Jersey City, N.J./St. Mary's of the Assumption) finished with 18 points, seven assists and six rebounds, which led to him earning PSAC East Athlete of the Week honors.
Eli Barrett (Harrisburg, Pa./Harrisburg) was the third and final Golden Ram in double figures in this victory, finishing with 16 points and eight rebounds in the non-league triumph.
Smith has been the Golden Rams offensive leader throughout the year, averaging a team-best 18.0 points per game, which ranks sixth best in the PSAC. In addition to Smith, reigning PSAC East Player of the Week, McGee and
Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover) have shown offensive firepower, averaging 16.6 and 13.0 points per game, respectively, making West Chester a problematic team to slow down. In addition to his 16.6 points per game, McGee also leads the team in assists, averaging 4.0 per game along with 2.3 steals per contest, helping West Chester on both ends of the floor. The trio of Barrett,
Moro Osumanu (Reading, Pa./Reading), and
Joshua Walker (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist) have done a nice job on the glass this year, averaging 7.3, 6.8, and 6.5 rebounds, respectively.
West Chester is second in the PSAC in both rebounding (41.1/g) and offensive rebounding (13.5/g), trailing only nationally-ranked East Stroudsburg in both these categories. Rebounding and success have gone hand in hand for West Chester this year, as the team is 6-0 when outrebounding its opponent while going 0-2 in games where it fails to do so. West Chester has not been at its best coming out of the halftime break this year, outscoring its opponents just four times in the second half and being held under 40 points four times. Despite these four sub-40 second halves, this has only cost West Chester once, when the Golden Rams scored just 22 points vs Mercyhurst in their PSAC opener earlier this month.
Scouting UPJ
Pitt-Johnstown enters play coming off a loss at the hands of one of the hotter teams in the region at the moment in East Stroudsburg in its most recent contest. In this game, Pitt-Johnstown hung around throughout the first half, but a late half run by the Warriors was the difference maker as ESU rolled to a 92-60 victory back on December 3
rd. Ryan Smith, who is second on the team in both scoring and rebounding, led the way with 18 points and six rebounds, while Joe Batt chipped in 14 of his own to help bolster the Mountain Cat offense. A normally good shooting team, averaging 50.3 % from the field on the year, UPJ shot just 37.7 % from the field and 22.2 % from deep in the setback, down significantly from the 40.1 % three-point shooting average on the year.
On the year, UPJ enters play with a record of 5-3, averaging 76.0 points per game while limiting opponents to an average of 71.6 points per contest, ranking in the top 10 in the league for defense. Limiting opponents three-point shooting has been key this year, holding opponents to an average of 34.8 % from beyond, which, combined with a narrow +1.3 lead in the rebounding battle, has allowed Pitt-Johnstown to give opponents trouble throughout the season.
John Paul Kromka remains one of the top players in the league, entering play on Sunday afternoon averaging 16.1 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, both of which are the best on the squad. East Stroudsburg did a great job in limiting the senior forward, holding him to just three points and three rebounds after he finished with 16 and 14 in the win over Bloomsburg to open PSAC play on December 2
nd. In addition to his scoring capability, Joe Batt has also been a threat as a facilitator for UPJ this year, ranking third on the team in assists, averaging 3.0 per game, trailing only Andrew Shull, who leads the team averaging 3.6 per game.
Scouting IUP
After advancing to the National Semifinals a season ago, things are going according to plan for #2/2 IUP (8-0) so far this season as the Crimson Hawks are off to a stellar start, ranked #2 in the nation in both polls and have won seven of eight games by double figures with the only close call coming in a five-point (65-60) win over New Haven at home on November 26
th.
Averaging 78.0 points per game, it has not been solely the Crimson Hawk offense, which has keyed their success so far this season but rather it has been a stifling defense, which leads all of Division II, surrendering an average of just 56.1 points per game. IUP also leads DII in opponent's field goal percentage, limiting the opposition to just 34.5 % shooting from the field on the year while also holding opponents to 26.3 % shooting from beyond the arc, which is sixth best in DII. As impressive as the Crimson Hawk defense has been, the offense has not been poor by any stretch, shooting 48.3 % from the field and 37.1 % from three through the first eight games of the season. Similarly to Pitt-Johnstown, IUP has also done a good job on the glass, entering play with a slim +1.5 lead in rebounding to go along with a +5.0 lead in the turnover margin, forcing opponents into an average of 17.1 turnovers per game.
Shawndale Jones leads the PSAC and ranks 19
th in all of DII men's basketball in scoring, averaging north of 21.0 points per game, while teammate Dave Morris averages 16.3 points per game as another offensive weapon for the Crimson Hawks. Jones, who shoots 42.2 % from the field, ranks second on the team in rebounding, averaging 5.3 per game, while also ranking third in assists, averaging 2.6 per contest, while teammate Morris leads the team at 3.3 helpers per game. Morris and Jones also rank first and second on the team in steals, averaging 2.1 and 1.9 per game as players who opponents must work hard to manage on both ends of the floor.
Up Next:
After visiting with IUP on Monday night, West Chester will have another 10-day layoff before returning home to face Seton Hill on Friday, December 30
th beginning at 5:30 p.m.
