WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Anthony Purnell Jr. (Chester, Pa./Kiski Prep) and Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover) both posted new season highs finishing with 17 and 19 points, respectively, but it was not enough to help West Chester (1-2) knock off the 23rd ranked Fairmont State Falcons (3-0) who earned a 74-68 victory to remain unbeaten on the year.
Purnell Jr. shot as well as any Golden Ram on Wednesday night, connecting on 8-of-17 attempts from the field, while Allen was 6-for-16 from the field and a team-high 6-of-10 from the line in the setback.
A trio of Falcons led Fairmont State in double figures as Zyon Dobbs led the team in scoring with 18 points and nine assists, narrowly missing a double-double, while Tommy Williams and Cameron Whiteside finished with 16 and 15, respectively.
Fairmont State jumped out to an early lead, taking a two-point lead just under a minute into the contest, but the Golden Rams did not trail for long, erasing the early deficit and stretching its lead to as many as nine with just over four minutes to play in the first half.
The first half was tight throughout, featuring three ties and five lead changes as Anthony Purnell Jr. (Chester, Pa./Kiski Prep) led all scorers with 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting, while Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover) added eight points of his own to help the Golden Rams carry a 36-33 lead into the halftime break.
West Chester maintained a slim lead early in the second half, stretching its advantage to 44-39 with 17 minutes to play in regulation. Fairmont State rallied back and evened things up at 44-14 with 14:13 to play. The two sides traded points from this point forward as the Golden Rams took a 50-48 lead, which proved to be the game's final lead for West Chester.
With the Golden Rams holding a slim 50-48 lead, Fairmont State went on a 13-3 run, shooting an even 50.0 % (3-of-6) from the field, including a 3-for-4 effort from deep, while also going a perfect 4-for-4 at the line and holding West Chester to just 1-of-8 over this stretch. This run allowed the guests to take their largest lead of the game, at 11 points, with 5:37 to play in regulation before the Golden Rams began their comeback effort.
West Chester cut the deficit down to just four (66-62) with 2:36 to play after a 6-0 run by Allen before cutting the deficit down to three after a jumper by Purnell Jr. with two minutes to play. West Chester continued its comeback in the final two minutes as Jordan Kellier (Kingston, Jamaica/Redemption Christian) hit a layup to make the score 69-66, but the visiting Falcons went 6-of-8 at the line down the stretch and got a clutch, catch-and-shoot three from Colin Comer, his lone make of the night to escape Hollinger with a 74-68 victory over the Golden Rams.
West Chester, one of the top rebounding teams in Division II in recent years, ended the game with a 40-37 rebounding lead, resulting in a 15-4 advantage in second-chance points. West Chester also ended the night with a 38-18 lead in points in the paint, an 11-5 lead in fast break points, and a 13-12 lead in points off the bench, led by a career-high six points from freshman Mirko Bramati (Bologna, Italy/St. Thomas More).
After shooting 51.6 % (16-of-31) from the field in the first half, West Chester came back down to earth a bit in the second half, connecting on 12-of-32 (37.5 %) from the field in the second half, ending the game with a 44.4 % (28-of-63) shooting effort from the field. West Chester was just 2-of-18 from deep in the setback, going 1-of-16 on its last 17 attempts while also shooting 55.6 % (10-for-18) from the line.
Fairmont State shot 40.7 % (22-of-54) from the field on Wednesday night and connected on 8-of-30 (26.7 %) from deep, including a 5-of-13 (38.5 %) shooting performance in the second half to complete the comeback and earn a narrow victory over the upset-minded Golden Rams. Fairmont State also shot 68.8 % (22-of-32) from the line in the victory, converting 16-of-22 from the line in the second-half comeback.
Wednesday night's setback was also the Golden Rams first loss in a home opener since the 2012-13 season when the team was edged by Chestnut Hill by a 63-62 final. This also marks the first time since the 2018-19 season, which culminated with an NCAA Tournament appearance for the Golden Rams that the team has started non-league play with a record of 1-2.
Up Next:
West Chester returns to action on Sunday afternoon at Wilmington beginning at 1 p.m.
