LOCK HAVEN, Pa.- The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) released its men's basketball All-Conference selections on Friday afternoon, and West Chester had two players named to the Second Team All-PSAC East squad as
Robert Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) and
Matt Dade (Collegeville, Pa./Episcopal Academy) were both honored on Friday afternoon.
These honors are the first All-Conference honors for both Smith and Dade as Smith has only completed his rookie season as a Golden Ram while Dade just finished his sophomore campaign.
Smith enjoyed a standout rookie season from the word go, scoring in double figures in 21 of 29 games during his freshman campaign, including three straight to open the year, highlighted by a 28-point effort against Lincoln in the second game of the season, which remained the most points in a single game by a Golden Ram throughout the balance of the 2021-22 season. Smith ended his season leading the team in scoring, averaging 14.2 points per game, shooting a solid 48.8 % from the field and 46.0 % from beyond the arc to help lead the West Chester offense throughout the season. Smith also made his presence felt defensively, ending the season in the top three on the team in steals, averaging 1.0 steals per game.
Dade stepped into an even larger role with the Golden Rams this season, scoring in double figures in 21 of 27 games and registering a team-best seven double-doubles on the season. Arguably the most impressive double-double of the year for Dade came on January 22
nd at Bloomsburg as he helped West Chester halt a two-game losing streak with a career-best 27 point/17 rebound performance vs the Huskies to lead West Chester to a 98-91 road triumph. Dade, who led the team in scoring on five different occasions and led the squad in rebounding 13 times, ended his season ranked third on the team in scoring, averaging 12.9 points per game while averaging 7.9 rebounds per contest, which was best on the team and seventh-best in the PSAC. Dade ended his season with a 47.6 % field-goal percentage and a solid 78.0 % free-throw shooting percentage as one of the most consistent Golden Rams throughout the season.
West Chester saw its 2021-22 season come to a close on Wednesday evening in the PSAC Quarterfinals with a 70-54 loss at the hands of top-seed and PSAC East Regular Season Champion Millersville. For Coach
Damien Blair and West Chester, the 2021-22 season ended with the team's 10
th straight postseason appearance and the 12
th in Blair's 14 years at the helm of the Golden Rams. West Chester started the year on a five-game non-conference winning streak and eventually completed a perfect 6-0 non-conference slate, playing to a record of 17-12 overall and 10-11 in PSAC play.
