JOHNSTOWN, Pa.- Looking to improve to 2-1 in league play ahead of a matchup with No. 2 IUP tomorrow evening, the West Chester men's basketball team (6-3, 1-2) returned to action at Pitt-Johnstown (6-3, 2-1) on Sunday afternoon. West Chester led early and for much of the first half before falling behind by as many as 10 points early in the second half, the Golden Rams erased this deficit, but it was a late jumper by Andrew Shull with eight seconds to play, which lifted the Mountain Cats to a narrow 81-79 triumph over the Golden Rams.
West Chester got off to a slow start in the second half, falling behind by 10 points (58-48) before connecting on its first field goal of the half with just under 14 minutes to play, which sparked a furious comeback that saw the Golden Rams tie the score and eventually retake the lead as the half wore on. West Chester held a 79-77 lead over its hosts with 1:28 to play after a floater from
Robert Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt), but UPJ scored the final four points of the game, and a late three, which would have lifted West Chester to the victory from
Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover) was off target as the Mountain Cats escaped with a two-point win over WCU.
Allen finished with a game-high 18 points on 6-of-16 shooting while Smith and
Anthony Purnell Jr. (Chester, Pa./Kiski) tied for second on the team in scoring with 15 points each to go along with a 13-point effort from
Kyle McGee (Jersey City, N.J./St. Mary's of the Assumption).
West Chester started fast on Sunday afternoon, leading by 10 points (13-3) just five four into the game following a successful trip to the line by
Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover). Despite a 17-12 run by Pitt-Johnstown over the next six minutes, West Chester continued to hold a 25-20 advantage as the game ticked under 10 minutes to play in the first half.
Eli Barrett (Harrisburg, Pa./Harrisburg) posted a game-high 12 rebounds, finishing just shy of a double-double as he also came away with eight points in the setback.
Pitt-Johnstown continued its comeback, eventually evening the score at 28-28 before inching ahead to a 46-43 lead heading into the half following a late Jared Jakubick layup with five seconds to play in the first half.
At the half,
Robert Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) was the lone player for either side in double figures with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including a 3-for-6 effort from beyond the arc. As a team, West Chester was 18-of-39 from the field and 3-for-3 from the line, while it was an impressive 11-of-12 effort from the stripe, which kept Pitt-Johnstown in the game and eventually in the lead at the half.
Pitt-Johnstown opened the second half by holding West Chester without a made-field goal for the first four and a half minutes as the Mountain Cats stretched their lead to 54-46 with 15:37, heading into the first media timeout of the second half with 15:37 to play.
The host Mountain Cats continued to extend their lead, eventually holding a 10-point (58-48) lead with 13:58 to play before Allen hit a three off an assist from
Kyle McGee (Jersey City, N.J./St. Mary's of the Assumption), which 13:05 to play, cutting the deficit back to eight and sparking a run by WCU, which saw the Golden Rams pull back to within five thanks to a 10-3 run, which included three's from Allen and
Moro Osumanu (Reading, Pa./Reading).
Anthony Purnell Jr. (Chester, Pa./Kiski) kept the comeback going with a fastbreak score with 10 minutes to play, cutting the deficit to 63-60. West Chester continued its comeback, eventually retaking the lead, leading by as many as four (77-73) with 2:45 to play before Pitt-Johnstown closed the game on an 8-2 run to steal an 81-79 win from the Golden Rams.
Pitt-Johnstown made 31 trips to the line on Sunday night, connecting on 22 of those attempts, which, combined with early second-half foul trouble for the Golden Rams, helped the Mountain Cats register the comeback victory over West Chester.
John Paul Kromka finished with a team-high 15 points as one of four players in double figures for Pitt-Johnstown, going 5-of-7 from the field as the Mountain Cats shot a solid 26-of-48 (54.2 %) from the field and an even 50.0 % (7-of-14) from beyond the arc. For its part, West Chester shot just 40.3 % (29-of-72) from the field and 25.0 % (8-of-32) from three while also going 13-for-17 (76.5 %) from the line.
Despite the setback, West Chester did end the game with a 41-32 advantage on the glass, including an 18-6 lead on the offensive glass, which translated into a 23-13 lead in second-chance points. West Chester also did a tremendous job limiting its turnovers, committing just two while forcing UPJ into eight, which led to a 9-2 lead in points off turnovers and a 9-7 edge in points off the break. West Chester also ended the game with a dominant 35-23 in points off the bench, the best production the Golden Rams have received from their second unit this season, thanks to the 18 points from Allen and the career-high 15 from Purnell Jr, surpassing his previous high of 13 at Lincoln in the season opener.
Up Next:
West Chester will have no time to dwell on this evening's setback as they return to the court in just over 24 hours with a matchup at 2022 National Semifinalist and second-ranked IUP on Monday evening beginning at 7:30 p.m.
