PHILADELPHIA- The West Chester University men's basketball team (1-3) will look to head into Thanksgiving Break on a high note Wednesday evening as the Golden Rams visit Chestnut Hill (0-5) for a non-league battle against the Griffins with opening tip set for 5:30 p.m.
SERIES INFORMATION
Wednesday night's meeting will be the 13
th all-time between the Golden Rams and Griffins and the 12
th meeting during head coach
Damien Blair's tenure at the helm. West Chester enters play with a record of 11-1 all-time against Chestnut Hill, winning each of the last six meetings, including a 97-80 victory during the 2021-22 season.
In the last meeting between the two non-league foes, West Chester found itself tied at the half, and things remained close until just past the midway point of the second half. West Chester turned the momentum in its favor with a 24-14 run that started with just under nine minutes to play and lasted until there was just 1:38 remaining in regulation to earn the 17-point victory.
FLOCK TALK
West Chester enters play on Wednesday night needing a victory to halt a difficult stretch for the Golden Rams as they find themselves amid a three-game losing streak after falling to Wilmington on Sunday by an 85-79 final.
On Sunday afternoon, West Chester had four players in double figures, led by 17 points from
Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover) and a pair of double-doubles from
Joshua Walker (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist) and
Jordan Kellier (Kingston, Jamaica/Redemption Christian) as they finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds and 14 points/18 rebounds, respectively. Kellier's 18 rebounds is the most in a single game since Robbie Heath corralled 20 against Mercyhurst in December of the 2019-20 season. This performance also surpasses a 17-rebound effort by Elijah Barrett during the 2022-23 season. Despite strong work on the glass and its four players in double figures, a late cold snap spelled doom for the Golden Rams, and a 9-for-11 effort at the line for the Wildcats spelled doom for West Chester as Wilmington escaped with an 85-79 victory on Sunday afternoon.
In uncharted territory nearing the end of the first month of the season, West Chester enters play on Wednesday night looking to take a step in the right direction toward getting back to .500 while the season is still young. Allen leads the team in scoring, averaging 14.5 points per game as one of three Golden Rams in double figures, while Walker and Kellier are second and third, averaging 10.5 and 10.0 points per game, respectively. Kellier is averaging a double-double through the first four games of the year, also averaging 10.5 rebounds per game and a team-best 3.0 assists per game. Purnell Jr. has been another bright spot for the youthful Golden Rams early this season, ranking fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 8.3 points per game, ranking second in assists, averaging 2.8 per game, and leading the team in steals with 1.5 per game.
As a team, West Chester has not shot as well as Golden Ram fans have been accustomed to open the year, shooting 39.1 % from the field, 20.2 % from beyond the arc, and a troubling 65.6 % from the line, connecting on just 59-of-90 attempts from the stripe. The Golden Rams rebounding effort has not been lacking through the first month of the season, as the Purple and Gold have continued to win the rebounding battle in three of four games, entering play on Wednesday with a 38.8 to 34.0 rebound per game advantage over its opponents.
GET TO KNOW THE GRIFFINS
Chestnut Hill enters Wednesday night looking to find its footing and get its first entry into the win column in 2023-24. The Griffins have had a difficult start to the year, kicking off the season 0-5, including a loss at #3/1 West Liberty and a pair of setbacks against PSAC East opponents in Millersville and Shippensburg. While the final score has yet to read in favor of the Griffins this season, Chestnut Hill has been getting steadily closer to breaking through, most recently falling to Shippensburg by a 71-69 final in its home opener on Monday night. On Monday night, Chestnut Hill appeared as if the return home might do the Griffins some good, leading 67-66 with just under 1:30 remaining in regulation. Shippensburg closed the game out on a 5-2 run, punctuated by a buzzer-beating jumper by Markus Frank off an inbounds pass to lift the Raiders to a 71-69 victory. Alejandro Redondo-Cybak led Chestnut Hill offensively, scoring a team-high 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting, while Neal Hill registered a double-double, finishing with 10 points and 11 rebounds in the setback.
Redondo-Cybak has been a steady force for Chestnut Hill throughout the season's first month, averaging a team-best 14.8 points per game. Adam Angwafo is the other Griffin in double figures, averaging 13.2 points per game. For the junior forward Hill, his double-double a night ago helped him increase his team lead in rebounding to 8.2 rebounds per game, while Redondo-Cybak is second on the squad, averaging 7.8 per game. Hill also leads the team in assists, averaging 2.2 per game, along with a team-best 1.8 steals per game entering play on Wednesday night.
Averaging just 61.8 points per game, Chestnut Hill has not been as dangerous offensively as it has in recent years, shooting just 38.5 % from the field, 29.5 % from three-point range, and 69.7 % from the line, while also averaging just 35.6 rebounds per game. Taking care of the basketball has also been problematic for Chestnut Hill early this season as the Griffins enter play with a -1.8 rebounding margin and an even more troubling -5.6 turnover margin, averaging almost 19 turnovers per game.
UP NEXT
West Chester returns to action next Friday, December 1, at home against Slippery Rock in its first PSAC Crossover game of the 2023-24 season, with the opening tip set for 5 p.m. This matchup will be the first of a busy weekend for the Golden Rams as the team is slated to return to action against Edinboro on Saturday, December 2, beginning at 3 p.m.
