WEST CHESTER, Pa.- After snapping a two-game skid on Wednesday evening at home vs Shepherd, West Chester (11-8) will look to keep things trending in the right direction this evening vs Penn State-Brandywine (9-14) beginning at 7 p.m. inside Hollinger Field House.
This game, which is believed to be the first meeting between the two squads will be the Golden Rams final non-league game of the season, as West Chester looks to complete a perfect run through non-conference play for the second year in a row and third time in the last four years after also doing so during the 2017-18 season.
Fan Information
As a reminder, all spectators, regardless of vaccination status, are required to wear a mask when attending any indoor athletic contests inside Hollinger Field house, the Sturzebecker Health Science Center, or the Graham Natatorium. Masking by all spectators in attendance creates the safest possible atmosphere for the student-athletes, coaches, staff, team representatives, officials, and all other spectators.
Flock Talk
West Chester enters play on Friday night looking to make it two wins in a row after dispatching Shepherd at home on Wednesday evening by a final score of 70-57. West Chester bounced back nicely after being held to its lowest scoring output of the season on Monday night (65 points) but still struggled to put up a large number against the PSAC East's best defense, registering the third lowest offensive effort of the season in the win on Wednesday. West Chester trailed only briefly in this game, eventually going on an impressive run that spanned the late stages of the first half into the second half to open up a lead, which grew to as many as 17 points in the second half en route to the 13-point victory.
Robert Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) led West Chester in scoring with 16 points while
Matt Dade scored 12 of his own in the victory as the two Golden Rams in double figures. Bench scoring continued to be a strong point for the Purple and Gold on Wednesday evening, outscoring the limited Shepherd bench 40-8 in the triumph. West Chester also got its rebounding back on track on Wednesday evening, outrebounding Shepherd 42-28 overall and 17-6 on the offensive glass.
For West Chester Assistant Coach
Ben Kay, this evening's contest brings with it some familiarity for first year Assistant Coach, as he served as the head coach of PSU-Brandywine during the 2017-18 season. During his year at the helm, Kay guided Brandywine to its first Conference Championship game appearance since 1991, a Conference Championship, and subsequent USCAA National Tournament appearance. The 2017-18 squad became the first team to win a USCAA Tournament game, knocking off NHTI to advance to the National Semifinals. Kay, earned Sam Cozen Small College Basketball Coach of the Year honors after leading the Lions to more than 20 wins (21-8) for the first time in 12 years.
Matt Dade (Collegeville, Pa./Episcopal Academy) has been one of the most consistent Golden Rams this season, scoring in double figures in 17 of 19 games, including four games with 20 or more points. Dade has also come away with 10 rebounds in seven of 19 games this year, registering six double doubles on the season to lead the Golden Rams in this category. The sophomore guard/forward combo has led the team in scoring in five games this season including three of the last six contests with a season-high 27 coming earlier in the month of January at Bloomsburg.
While the Golden Ram's starting five has been challenging to stop throughout the season, things do not get any easier for opponents when West Chester turns to its second unit as this group has outscored opponents in every game so far this season, including an impressive 40-7 effort vs IUP earlier in the year. Overall, West Chester's bench has outscored the opposing bench unit 604-275, averaging 31.8 points per game off the bench compared to just 14.5 for its opponents.
Penn State Brandywine Primer
Friday evening will be PSU-Brandywine's first game of the new month, with its last game coming on Sunday afternoon in the form of a 53-50 loss at PSU-Beaver. Beaver limited Brandywine to just two points through the first 10 minutes of the game, which put the visitors in an early 12-2 hole they were unable to dig out of, thus, halting seven-game winning streak. Collin Hockenbrock led the team in scoring with 14 points and seven rebounds while PSUAC Player of the Week Bryce Barrouck finished with nine points and six rebounds after registering three 20-point efforts earlier in the week to end the week averaging 20.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per game.
As a team, Penn State-Brandywine enters play having won seven of its last eight games, with its first loss in that stretch coming in its last game back on January 30
th vs Penn State-Beaver. Averaging 71.7 points per game while shooting 43.7 % from the field and 32.5 % from beyond the arc, the Nittany Lions have been led by Barrouck throughout much of the season as he leads the team in points (18.4 PPG) and rebounding (8.8/G) to this point in the season. Colin Hockenbrock, who led the team in scoring in the setback vs Beaver, is second on the team in scoring averaging 11.7 points per game while Johnta Dunson is next averaging 11.2 points per game. Dunson, has also shown his skills as a facilitator of the PSU offense this season, ranking second on the squad in assists, averaging 2.0 assists per game trailing only Jordan Graves who leads the team with 2.1/G.
Up Next
West Chester will have a brief reprieve from its busy three-game a week schedule next week as West Chester will not play on Monday evening before visiting Shippensburg on Wednesday, February 9
th before returning home to host Bloomsburg on Saturday the 12
th.
