CLARION, Pa.- The West Chester men's basketball team (9-5, 4-4) will make one final trek across the Keystone State tomorrow afternoon to face off against Clarion (2-12, 0-8) in its final PSAC West crossover game of the season beginning at 3 p.m.
Series Information
West Chester enters play on Saturday, having won six in a row in the all-time series, including a 73-54 win in November 2019 at the home of the Golden Eagles. This winning streak represents a notable shift for the Golden Rams as Clarion took four of the first six games of the series in the early 2000s before WCU fought back into the series to hold a 10-9 lead all-time entering play on Saturday.
This is the Golden Rams' final crossover game of the year, and West Chester enters play with a record of 2-3 in such games, looking to get back to .500 in crossover matchups with a win on Saturday afternoon.
The last time West Chester and Clarion met in 2019 at Clarion, West Chester raced out to an early 17-4 advantage just under seven minutes in before eventually stretching the lead to as many as 24 (54-30) en route to a convincing 73-54 victory. In a game that was never really close, Malik Jackson led the team in scoring, finishing with 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting as one of four Golden Rams in double figures.
Flock Talk
On Wednesday night vs Shippensburg, West Chester found itself behind early, trailing by 13 points just a few minutes into the contest before storming back to within a point and eventually retaking the lead, including holding a slim lead early in the second half. However, this second-half lead was short-lived, as Shippensburg countered with an impressive run of its own, erasing the deficit and eventually pulling away with a 17-point lead with 5:30 to play in regulation en route to a 76-61 victory over the Golden Rams.
Eli Barrett (Harrisburg, Pa./Harrisburg) continued his stellar run of play with his third double-double in four games, finishing with 16 points on 8-of-14 shooting and 11 rebounds to lead the Golden Rams in both categories.
Joshua Walker (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist) nearly set a new season and career-high in scoring, finishing with 14 points as the lone other Golden Ram in double figures, finishing just shy of his high of 15 that he recorded vs. Gannon earlier this season. The work by the Golden Rams big men was integral in helping the team stay close with Shippensburg throughout much of the game as many of the guards struggled from the field, shooting an uncharacteristic 8-of-34 as a collective in the setback.
Carrying a record of 9-5 and 4-4 in league play, West Chester remains well-positioned to make a run as PSAC play continues with a month-and-a-half remaining in the regular season. Averaging 76.3 points per game behind a 42.7 % field-goal shooting effort so far this season, West Chester remains squarely in the middle of the PSAC in many offensive categories. West Chester still leads the PSAC in offensive rebounding, pulling in an average of 13.7 offensive rebounds per game, which is 14
th in the Nation. Winning the rebounding battle has been key to the Golden Rams success this year, going 8-2 in games in which it outrebounds its opponents and 1-3 in games in which its loses that battle. Averaging over 14 second-chance points per game, West Chester has consistently outscored its opponents in this category throughout the year, winning the battle in 13 of 15 games, including three straight to open 2023.
Scouting Clarion
Clarion enters play on Saturday afternoon in the midst of an eight-game losing streak following a loss vs. Pitt-Johnstown on Wednesday night. Clarion trailed by eight (30-22) at the half and was unable to overcome its deficit, eventually falling by a final of 66-53 vs. the Mountain Cats on Wednesday night. Gerald Jarmon led the team in scoring with 19 points, which has been a common occurrence this season for Clarion, as he is second on the team in scoring, averaging 15.2 points per game. The Golden Eagles shot just 35.2 % from the field and 29.2 % from three, both of which were below their season averages of 38.2 % and 31.5 %, while also shooting just 61.5 % from the line, connecting on just eight attempts.
Mekhi Reynolds is the leading scorer for Clarion so far this season, averaging 15.4 points per game, while Jarmon is close behind, averaging 15.2 per contest. Reynolds also ranks in the top three on the team in assists (1.7/g-2
nd) and steals (1.0/g-2
nd), while Fray Nguimbi leads the team in rebounding, averaging 6.5 rebounds per game, while Jayson Harris is second on the team, averaging 5.8 rebounds per game.
Up Next
West Chester returns to action next Wednesday at Lock Haven before continuing its road trip with a visit to East Stroudsburg next Saturday afternoon.
