SHIPPENSBURG, Pa.- Following a 99-49 thrashing of Penn State-Brandywine on Friday night, the West Chester men's basketball team (12-8, 6-8 PSAC) will look to extend its winning streak to three in a row and snap a four-game losing streak inside Heiges Field House against Shippensburg (14-6, 11-4 PSAC) on Wednesday evening beginning at 8 p.m.
Series Information
West Chester and Shippensburg are old rivals, having met 106 times over the years with West Chester holding a 72-34 lead in the all-time series between the two teams. Shippensburg swept the season series in the 2019-20, winning the final meeting by an 83-58 final. West Chester has not won inside Heiges Field House since the 2015-16 season, going 0-4 since that last win on 12/1/15.
The last time West Chester faced Shippensburg was also inside the unfriendly confines of Heiges Field House as the Golden Rams dropped their fourth consecutive game at Shippensburg since the 2015-16 season. West Chester, despite never leading was well within striking distance throughout the first half, trailing by just five points (39-34) heading into the halftime break. Out of the break, Shippensburg went on a quick 14-2 run early in the half to break the game open, eventually outscoring West Chester 44-24 in the first half to earn the 83-58 victory over the visiting Golden Rams.
Matt Dade returns as the Golden Rams leading returning scorer from that game, having scored nine points, narrowly missing becoming the fourth Golden Ram in double figures in the setback. Jake Biss was the Raiders leading scorer in the victory, finishing with 26 points while Dom Sleva was second on the squad in scoring with 15 points in the win.
Flock Talk
West Chester enters play on Wednesday evening looking to continue its winning ways after opening the month of February on a two-game winning streak with its most recent win coming in dominant fashion over PSU-Brandywine on Friday, February 4th by a 99-49 final. In this contest, West Chester started the game out on a 16-0 run and never trailed en route to the 50-point victory. Up by 26 at the halftime break following its third best first-half scoring output of the year, West Chester was never really in danger of losing this non-conference battle as the Golden Rams led by as many as 52 points with 1:54 to play in regulation. Offensively, it was a balanced effort for the Golden Rams as the earned 76 of its 99 points on the night from its second unit, a group which has been a strong point for the team throughout the season.
Kyle McGee (Jersey City, N.J./St. Mary's of the Assumption) and
Cam Polak (Munhall, Pa./Steel Valley) tied for the team-lead in scoring with 12 points each while
Moro Osumanu (Reading, Pa./Reading) and
Julian Hairston (Philadelphia, Pa./Lower Merion) both ended with career-high 10-point efforts in the victory as the four Golden Rams in double figures. West Chester shot 51.3 % from the field and 36.0 % from beyond the arc while also shooting 80.0 % (12-of-15) from the line in the victory.
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 76-23 effort vs PSU-Brandywine earlier in the year. Overall, West Chester's bench has outscored the opposing bench unit 680-298, averaging 34.0 points per game off the bench compared to just 14.9 for its opponents.
Matt Dade (Collegeville, Pa./Episcopal Academy) has been one of the most consistent Golden Rams this season, scoring in double figures in 17 of 20 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. McGee, who tied for the team lead in scoring on Friday night with 12 points has led the Golden Rams in scoring a team-best seven times this season, including his career-best 19 point effort vs Elizabeth City State to open the season. Despite leading the team in scoring with the most frequency so far this season, the Golden Rams are just 3-4 in games that McGee has led the squad in scoring and are 1-4 in the last five instances.
Scouting Shippensburg
Shippensburg enters this game having dropped its last contest, which was a very-low scoring contest against Millersville falling by a 55-51 final score. Shippensburg trailed by just one point at the halftime break as the game remained close throughout with the game's final 10 minutes being played as a one-possession game until Millersville was eventually able to take a four-point lead with three seconds remaining to escape the ever-challenging Heiges Field House with a win. Dom Sleva led three Raiders in double figures with 16 points while also grabbing 12 rebounds for his second consecutive double-double. Rashon Johnson added 13 points and 12 rebounds of his own along with one assist and a game-high three steals while Carlos Carter scored 13 of his own to go along with five rebounds. As a team, Shippensburg shot 32.2 % from the field and just 18.5 % from three-point range while also shooting 57.1 % from the line in the loss.
Rashon Johnson has been one of the more consistent Raiders this season, leading the team in scoring, averaging 16.1 points per game while ranking second on the squad in rebounding, averaging 7.4 rebounds per game. Jake Biss has been another Raider to keep an eye on this season, ranking second on the team in scoring, averaging 14.0 points per game while also leading the team in assists and steals, averaging 4.0 assists and 1.6 steals per game entering the final weeks of regular season.
While Shippensburg ranks among the worst in the league in scoring average, averaging just 70.9 points per game, slightly ahead of Seton Hill and Shepherd, although the Raiders boast the third-best defense in the league, holding opponents to an average of 64.7 points per game, which is also the best in the PSAC East, passing Shepherd for this mantle following games last week.
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action at home on Saturday afternoon vs Bloomsburg beginning at 3 p.m. in the second game of a doubleheader against the Huskies on what will also be Pack the House day inside Hollinger Field House.
