WILMINGTON, Del.- Following a narrow 74-68 setback in its home opener on Wednesday night against nationally ranked Fairmont State, the West Chester University men's basketball team (1-2) has shifted its attention to a battle on the road at Wilmington (0-3) on Sunday afternoon beginning at 1 p.m.
SERIES INFORMATION
West Chester holds a 13-2 lead in the all-time series over Wilmington but will be looking for a way to bounce back from a 91-74 loss against the Wildcats in Hollinger a year ago.
In this matchup a year ago, West Chester found itself on the wrong end of an 8-2 run to open the game and could never fully erase its early deficit, eventually falling to the Wildcats.
Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover) led the team in scoring in this game, finishing with 22 points, but a 58.3 % shooting effort from the line and a 24-12 deficit in fast break points allowed the Wildcats to snap a two-game losing streak against the Golden Rams.
FLOCK TALK
Currently amid its longest non-league losing streak since the 2018-19 season, West Chester will look to build off what it did on Wednesday night against nationally ranked Fairmont State. West Chester got out to an early lead in this contest, carrying a 36-33 advantage into the halftime break, never trailing by more than two in the first half of action. West Chester shot well in the first half, heading to the break shooting 51.61 % (16-of-31) from the field, but fell upon hard times in the second half, shooting just 37.50 % (12-of-32) as the visiting Falcons completed the comeback over the Golden Rams. Allen scored 19 points on 6-of-16 shooting from the field, while
Anthony Purnell Jr. (Chester, Pa./Kiski) was second in scoring, finishing with 17 points on 8-of-17 shooting.
Individually, Allen enters Sunday afternoon as the team's leading scorer, averaging 13.7 points per game as the lone Golden Ram averaging north of 10 points per game through the first three games of the season.
Jordan Kellier (Kingston, Jamaica/Redemption Christian) is second in scoring, averaging 9.7 points per game, while
Joshua Walker (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist) is third, averaging 8.7 per game. Kellier and Walker also rank first and second on the team in rebounding, averaging 8.0 and 6.0 rebounds per game, while Kellier is also tied with Purnell Jr. for the team lead in assists, averaging 2.3 helpers per game.
West Chester enters Sunday as a team, averaging 66.0 points per game, shooting 40.4 % from the field, 21.5 % from three-point range, and 60.0 % from the line. One of the top rebounding groups in Division II in recent years, West Chester is averaging 34.7 rebounds per game, just below its opposition, as opposing teams have a one-rebound (105-104) 35.0 rebound per game advantage over the Golden Rams.
WHAT ABOUT WILMINGTON
Wilmington enters Sunday afternoon looking for its first victory of the young season in what will be the home opener for head coach Dan Burke's Wildcats. Wilmington started the year with a three-game road trip, which saw the team face off against NE-10 foes St. Rose and New Haven before traveling to Shippensburg on Wednesday night. The Wildcats fell to St. Rose by an 85-73 final and New Haven by a 75-64 final before giving Shippensburg all it could handle earlier this week, taking the Raiders to overtime before falling by an 81-77 final. At Shippensburg on Wednesday night, the entire game was played within six points, as neither team was able to get any substantial separation throughout the evening. Wilmington led briefly in overtime, sneaking out to a 75-71 lead with two minutes to play, but Shippensburg closed the game on a 10-2 run, helped in part by an 0-for-4 effort from the field and a Wildcat turnover on the final few Wilmington possessions of the game. Taalib Holloman led the team in scoring, finishing with 20 points on 6-of-13 shooting, while Nalik Veasley registered a double-double, finishing with 14 points and 15 rebounds in the setback. As a team, Wilmington shot 35.8 % (24-of-67) from the field and 72.7 % (24-of-33) from the line while connecting on just 5-of-23 (21.7 %) attempts from three-point territory.
Holloman's 20-point effort on Wednesday night was business as usual for the senior guard as he leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.7 points per game as the first of three players averaging in double figures for Wilmington so far this season. Caleb Matthews and Marcus Pierce also average in double figures, averaging 11.7 and 11.0 points per game, while also ranking in the top two on the team in assists. Pierce leads the squad in assists, dishing out an average of five per game, while Matthews is tied with Skip Burton for second with 3.7 per game. Matthews also ranks second on the squad in rebounding, averaging 4.7 per game. Nalik Veasley holds the team lead in rebounding, corralling an average of 8.7 rebounds per game, following his 15-rebound effort at Shippensburg on Wednesday night.
As a team, Wilmington enters play with similar team stats to that of West Chester, averaging 71.3 points per game, shooting 40.6 % from the field, 33.3 % from beyond the arc, and 74.5 % from the line, while also coming away with an average of 37.0 rebounds per game, following a season-high 47 at Shippensburg earlier this week.
UP NEXT
West Chester will remain on the road next week, visiting Chestnut Hill on Wednesday night beginning at 5:30 p.m. in its final non-league game before the beginning of PSAC Crossover play on December 1-2.
