WEST CHESTER, Pa.- West Chester (17-11) welcomed fifth-seed Shepherd (12-17) to Hollinger Field House on Monday evening for the first round of the PSAC Tournament, overcoming a first-half deficit and scoring the most points against the Rams by any team this season, earning an 88-79 victory over the visiting Rams to advance to the PSAC Quarterfinals on Wednesday evening at Millersville.
Kyle McGee (Jersey City, N.J./St. Mary's of the Assumption) drained a crucial three with two minutes to play off an assist from
Eli Barrett (Harrisburg, Pa./Harrisburg), giving West Chester an eight-point lead (80-72) and giving West Chester critical momentum entering the final minutes of regulation.
West Chester stretched its lead to as many as 11 points when
Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover) knocked down a pair of free throws to put West Chester up 84-73 entering the final minute of regulation. Shepherd tried to close the gap late but was unsuccessful as West Chester held on for an 88-79 home victory over the Rams to advance to the PSAC Quarterfinals.
Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover) continued what has been a stellar stretch of basketball, scoring a career-high and game-high 27 points on 8-of-15 shooting and 7-of-10 from the line while also coming away with five rebounds, and two steals in the victory.
Robert Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) had a big game as well, finishing with 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting while McGee ended with 16 points and six rebounds on a very efficient 6-of-8 shooting.
Jamil Manigo (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) also ended in double figures as the fourth Golden Ram above 10 points, ending with 12 points of his own to help West Chester earn the comeback victory.
West Chester took the first lead of the game on a made three by Allen, before Shepherd countered eventually leading by as many as six points with 12:07 to play in the first half. Down the stretch of the half, West Chester and Shepherd traded baskets but it was the Golden Rams who closed out the first half on a 7-2 run, including four points from Smith to take a 42-41 lead into the halftime break.
West Chester opened the second half in the same way it opened the game, getting a stop against Shepherd followed by an Allen three on the other end to take what was at the time its largest lead of the game at 45-41. West Chester and Shepherd traded baskets over the next few minutes as West Chester held a slim 52-49 lead with under 15 minutes to play in regulation.
Shepherd countered with an 8-5 run over next four minutes of play, cutting into the West Chester lead, making the score 59-57 at the under-12 media timeout with 11:39 to play. As the clock ticked under 10 minutes, West Chester held on to its lead, eventually leading by as many as 11 in the late stages following an impressive 10-0 run down the stretch to overcome an upset-minded Shepherd squad by an 88-79 final score.
For Shepherd, Kyle Daggett was one of three Rams in double figures with 21 points, including a perfect 7-for-7 effort at the line while also coming away with a game-high seven rebounds in the setback. Phillip Jordan also turned in a strong showing for the upset-minded Rams, finishing with 16 points, doing the majority of his damage at the free throw line, where he went 11-of-12 in the setback.
As a team, West Chester turned in another solid shooting night, ending the game shooting an even 50.0 % from the field and 43.3 % (13-of-30) from deep while also shooting 68.2 % from the line in the win. For Shepherd, the Rams also shot the ball well from the field, shooting 46.2 % on the night and 33.3 % from beyond the arc while also shooting 86.2 % (25-of-29) from the line in the setback. West Chester's 13 made three's tied a season-high for the Golden Rams, matching their 13 makes vs East Stroudsburg in the regular-season finale on Saturday.
After being outscored for just the second time all season by East Stroudsburg on Saturday in the regular-season finale, the West Chester bench responded in a big way on Monday evening, outscoring Shepherd's second unit 33-17 to help key the comeback victory. West Chester also ended the game with a 23-6 advantage in points off turnovers and a corresponding 31-7 lead in fast break points in the victory.
Shepherd did manage to end the game with a 40-26 advantage in rebounding, no small feat when facing the Golden Rams who had entered play as the top-rebounding squad in the PSAC at the end of the regular season. This +14 advantage on the glass also led to a 13-8 advantage in second-chance points for the Rams, but it was not enough to pull the upset.
With this victory, Head Coach
Damien Blair improves to 11-10 in the PSAC Tournament, advancing to at least the quarterfinal round of the PSAC Tournament each year dating back to the 2011-12 season when West Chester advanced to the PSAC Championship.
West Chester will now advance to the PSAC Quarterfinals at the of the top seed and PSAC East Regular Season Champion Millersville on Wednesday with opening tip in that contest set for 7 p.m. inside Pucillo Gymnasium.
