WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Following a setback at the hands of Millersville on Wednesday night, which halted a four-game winning streak, the West Chester men's basketball team (14-6, 9-5) bounced back with a dominant win over Bloomsburg (1-17, 1-13), winning by a 102-73 final.
West Chester trailed only briefly, falling behind by a pair just under a minute into the game before quickly erasing the deficit and cruising to the 102-73 victory.
Prior to the game, West Chester also honored
Eli Barrett (Harrisburg, Pa./Harrisburg) in a special pre-game ceremony in recognition of his 1,000
th-college point, which he scored at Kutztown back on January 7
th.
Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover) led the team in scoring with 16 points as one of four Golden Rams in double figures.
Anthony Purnell Jr. (Chester, Pa./Kiski) and
Joshua Walker (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist) finished with 15 points each, while
Robert Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) added 14 to go along with 12 from
Eli Barrett (Harrisburg, Pa./Harrisburg).
Kyle McGee (Jersey City, N.J./St. Mary's of the Assumption) narrowly missed a triple-double, finishing with nine points, eight rebounds, and eight assists.
West Chester ended the game with a 50.7 % (36-of-71) field goal percentage and a 42.9 % (12-of-28) three-point shooting effort while also 18-for-20 (90.0 %) from the line in the victory. For its part, Bloomsburg shot 46.4 % (26-of-56) from the field and 31.8 % (7-of-22) from three while also going 14-for-23 (60.9 %) from the line in the setback.
West Chester jumped ahead early, taking a quick 12-4 lead just over two minutes into the contest before eventually holding a 17-7 lead with 15:46 to play at the first media timeout after going 3-of-6 from range in the first four minutes of action.
West Chester extended this lead to 24-10 with 12 minutes to play before Bloomsburg began to cut into the deficit, eventually trailing 27-17 midway through the half.
This is as close as West Chester would allow its guests to get, going on an impressive 12-0 run late in the half to lead by as many as 30 late in the first half, eventually carrying a 52-30 lead into the half.
Smith led all scorers with 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and from three as West Chester shot a blistering 10-of-19 from deep, making 19 of its 10 field goals from beyond the arc to carry a 22-point lead into the halftime break.
From the field as a whole, West Chester shot 48.7 % (19-of-39) from the field and 10-of-19 (52.6 %) from three while also shooting 80.0 % from the line in the first 20 minutes of action.
Luke Boyd (Somerton, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) came off the bench for West Chester in the first half and was impressive, going 3-of-4 from deep to finish the first half with nine points as the Golden Rams held a commanding lead.
The two teams traded baskets through the first four minutes of the second half as West Chester maintained its comfortable 61-40 lead over Bloomsburg. West Chester continued to control the game as the second half continued, eventually leading by as many as 31 in the waning seconds of regulation in an impressive 102-73 win over Bloomsburg.
West Chester ended the game with a 43-29 lead on the glass, which resulted in a 22-5 lead in second-chance points, while also ending the game with a 20-13 lead in turnovers, resulting in a 21-13 lead in points off turnovers. West Chester also ended the contest with a 40-34 lead in points in the paint, a 26-10 lead in points off the break, and a 36-15 lead in points off the bench, led by 15 from Purnell Jr. and nine from Boyd.
Up Next:
West Chester will return to action on Wednesday night at home vs Kutztown beginning at 7:30 p.m.
