WEST CHESTER, Pa.- After halting a three-game losing streak with a 74-68 victory over Chestnut Hill on Thanksgiving Eve, the West Chester University men's basketball team (2-3) is ready to open PSAC play with a crossover weekend battle against Slippery Rock (1-3) on Friday at 5 p.m. and Edinboro (1-4) at 3 p.m. on Saturday. West Chester will look to get back to and get above .500 to open the month of December on Friday night while simultaneously looking to start league play a perfect 2-0 ahead of its non-league finale next Saturday afternoon against Goldey Beacom.
SERIES INFORMATION
Against Slippery Rock, West Chester enters with a 14-8 lead in the all-time series, winning six of the last 11 matchups between the two foes. Since the 2007-08 season, West Chester has held a definite advantage in home games against the Rock, playing to a perfect 5-0 record in such games while going just 1-5 in games played away from home, with that road win coming in December of the 2012-13 season. The two teams last met in the 2021-22 season, and despite four players in double figures, led by 17 points from
Kyle McGee and a 48.3 % field-goal percentage, it was a second-half surge, which led the Rock past the Golden Rams.
Against Edinboro. West Chester has gone 6-3 against the Fighting Scots since the 2007-08 season, playing to a mark of 13-9 all-time against the Fighting Scots. The two teams first met in the 1994 edition of the NCAA Tournament in Edinboro, which saw West Chester fall by a 68-67 final. West Chester enters play on a three-game winning streak, including a 91-72 victory over the Fighting Scots in Edinboro during the 2019-20 season. When the two sides met in 2020, West Chester was ranked 10
th in Division II and improved to 13-0 for the first time in its history with a dominant performance that saw the Golden Rams race out to a 47-21 lead in the first 14 minutes of action. West Cheser never let the game get close again as a trio of Golden Rams scored in double figures, led by a 27-point effort from Malik Jackson. The last time Edinboro visited Hollinger was in December of the 2018-19 season, resulting in an 88-37 victory for the Golden Rams. West Chester shot an impressive 51.5 % from the field and held an opponent under 38 points for what was at the time the first time since 1991 to improve to 4-3 on the year. Frank Rokins led the team in scoring, finishing with 17 points as one of three Golden Rams in double figures in the victory.
FLOCK TALK
West Chester enters play on Friday evening following a 74-68 victory over Chestnut Hill, which saw the Golden Rams just out to a 21-point lead in the first half and lead by as many as 19 late in the second half before the host Griffins began an ill-fated comeback effort, cutting the Golden Ram lead to single digits in the final moments of regulation.
Elijah Allen had a career night in the victory, finishing with 20 points and a career-high 11 rebounds for a double-double. Playing in his second game of the season,
Robert Smith chipped in 16 of his own to go along with 14 from
Joshua Walker and 13 from
Jordan Kellier, who also finished with eight rebounds and three assists in the victory. West Chester shot well throughout the night last Wednesday, shooting 50.9 % from the field and 41.2 % from deep while also connecting on 90.0 % of its attempts at the line, all of which were new season highs for the Golden Rams.
West Chester heads into the weekend averaging 70.2 points per game on 41.2 % shooting from the field and 23.6 % shooting from deep while also outrebounding its foes by an average of 5.8 rebounds per game.
Transfer
Jordan Kellier (Kingston, Jamaica/Redemption Christian) has been a significant part of this rebounding effort, leading the team on the glass, averaging 10.0 per game, which ranks 18th best in DII and third in the PSAC.
Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover) has been the top offensive weapon throughout the year for West Chester, leading the team in scoring, averaging 15.6 points per game, while Walker is close behind with 11.2 points per game. Smith, who missed three of the first five games to open the year, has also enjoyed a tremendous start to the new year, scoring in double figures in each of his first two contests, pouring in 19 against St. Augustine's on opening night before adding 16 against Chestnut Hill last time out.
Anthony Purnell Jr. (Chester, Pa./Kiski) has also continued to contribute well through the first month of his sophomore campaign, averaging 8.0 points per game on 42.9 % shooting, while also tying with Kellier for the team lead in assists, averaging 3.0 per game.
SCOUTING SLIPPERY ROCK
Slippery Rock enters play undergoing a significant climate change, coming to West Chester straight from the beaches of Hawaii earlier this week. The Rock enters with a record of 1-3 after dropping two games in two days in Hawaii, falling to Hawaii Pacific on Sunday, November 26, by a 76-74 final before dropping its finale against Chaminade (yes, that Chaminade who appeared in the Maui Invitational just before Thanksgiving) by a 75-67 final on Monday night. These setbacks, combined with an 86-62 setback against Daemen on November 21, have been a change for the Rock after a season-opening 100-71 victory over West Chester Virginia Wesleyan in Morrow Field House. Against Chaminade, Lashon Lindsey and Sheick Samoura led the way in scoring with 13 points each, while Maceo Austin added 12 of his own, but it was not enough to overcome a mid-half run by CU, which helped the hosts earn a 75-67 victory on Monday night. Slippery Rock shot 36.6 % from the field in this game and 24.1 % from deep while connecting on 88.9 % of its free throws and winning the rebounding battle by a 43-41 margin.
These totals were a bit of a deviation from the norm for sixth-year head coach Ian Grady's bunch, as the team averages 75.8 points per game on 43.1 % shooting from the field and 32.0 % shooting from beyond the arc on the year.
Austin has been the top offensive threat for a deep Slippery Rock squad, which shows five players averaging in double figures on the year, as he averages 16.0 points per game while also ranking second on the team in assists, averaging 2.5 helpers per game. Lindsay and Samoura are second and third in scoring, averaging 13.3 and 12.8 points per game, respectively, while Ike Herster and Jomo Goings average 11.0 and 11.7 per game. Lindsay and Goings also rank first and second on the team in rebounding, as Lindsay averages 9.8 per game to go along with 6.0 from Goings entering the second month of the 2023-24 season.
SCOUTING EDINBORO
Edinboro has had a similar start to the year, entering the weekend with a record of 1-4 after earning its first victory of the season with an 87-80 over Roberts Wesleyan after falling to West Virginia Wesleyan (92-87), Fairmont State (85-64), Malone (74-68), and Tiffin (78-55) to open the season. When the Fighting Scots make their first visit to Hollinger since the 2018 season on Saturday afternoon, it will be their second game of the weekend, as the team must first manage Kutztown on Friday at 3 p.m. On Tuesday night against Roberts Wesleyan, head coach Justin Jennings secured his first win as the Fighting Scots head coach, thanks to a 19-8 run to close out the game, including a 9-0 from by Bernie Blunt and Easton Fulmer with under five minutes to play in regulation. Blunt and Fulmer led the team in scoring on Tuesday night, finishing with 23 and 22 points, respectively.
Blunt has been the top offensive weapon for Edinboro throughout the year, averaging 20.6 points per game through the first month of the season as the lone Edinboro player with over 100 points scored on the year. Daunte Wilcott is second on the team in scoring, averaging 10.0 points per game, while leading the team in rebounding, averaging 7.8 rebounds per game.
As a team, Edinboro enters the weekend averaging 72.2 points per game, shooting 39.3 % from the field and 27.6 % from deep, and averaging 39.8 rebounds per game, while its opponents have corralled 42.0 per game.
UP NEXT
West Chester will remain home for its final non-league game next Saturday when the Golden Rams welcome Goldey-Beacom to Hollinger Field House for a 1 p.m. start. This will be the last home game for West Chester until December 30 when the team faces off against Clarion beginning at 3 p.m. West Chester will be on the road before this matchup, traveling to Mercyhurst and Gannon on December 18 and 19, continuing its road warrior start to the 2023-24 campaign.
