ERIE, Pa.- Winners of each of its last four, the West Chester University men's basketball team (5-3, 2-0) will put its winning streak and unbeaten record in league play to the test this week with a pair of matchups against Mercyhurst (5-5, 1-1) and No. 18/17 Gannon (8-0, 2-0) on Monday and Tuesday evenings. West Chester will face off against Mercyhurst on Monday afternoon at 3 p.m. before visiting with Gannon on Tuesday night at 7:30 in its final game until the Holiday Break. This road trip is the latest in a busy stretch of road play for the Golden Rams to open the season as the team will play its sixth road game in its first 10 games of the year on Tuesday night against the Golden Knights.
SERIES INFORMATION
West Chester renews its rivalry with a pair of teams it saw in Hollinger a year ago during Crossover play in the Lakers and Golden Knights. When Mercyhurst and Gannon came calling in the first crossover weekend of the year a season ago, West Chester went 1-1 against its Western-most foes, dropping a 81-66 decision to Mercyhurst before rebounding with an 82-74 victory over Gannon in the second game of the weekend.
Against Mercyhurst, West Chester holds a slim 6-5 lead in the all-time series, winning the first meeting between the two foes in 2009 by a 63-58 final and four of the first five meetings from 2009-2014. Mercyhurst had the better of the series for a brief time, winning three in a row over the Golden Rams; however, momentum has seemed to shift back in favor of the Purple and Gold in recent years, with West Chester winning two of the last three, capturing victories in both 2017 and 2019. It bears noting that West Chester is making its first visit to Mercyhurst since December 2016, which was part of the three-game losing streak and the Golden Rams have not won in Erie since the first meeting between the two rivals in 2009.
In Hollinger a year ago,
Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover) led a trio of Golden Rams in double figures with 17 points, joined by
Robert Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) and
Joshua Walker (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist) with 15 and 11, respectively. West Chester shot just 31.3 % from the field in this game and was outrebounded by 10 as the Purple and Gold found themselves on the wrong side of a second-half comeback that saw Mercyhrust erase a five-point halftime deficit to earn the victory.
When it comes to the history against Gannon, the record books are much more friendly to the Golden Rams, showing an 8-2 lead in the all-time series and a four-game winning streak for the Golden Rams dating back to the 2016 season. West Chester dropped the first meeting opposite Gannon in the 2011 season, falling by a 96-86 final but bounced back nicely, winning each of the next four and nine of 10 since then. West Chester has also won in its last two visits to Gannon, posting victories over the Golden Knights in both 2017-18 and 2019-20 seasons, winning by 52-44 and 72-67 finals.
In West Chester a year ago, the Golden Rams earned an 82-74 victory over the Golden Knights behind 18 points from Smith and a double-double by
Elijah Barrett (Harrisburg, Pa./Harrisburg), who finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds. West Chester trailed by as many as eight in the early stages of this contest but rallied back to carry a 34-30 lead into the halftime break. With the lead back in hand at the midway point of the contest, West Chester put the game away, leading by as many as 16 midway through the second half to extend its winning streak to four in a row. West Chester shot just 38.6 % from the field in this contest but won the rebounding battle by a 45-42 margin and did an excellent job of limiting its turnovers, ending the game with a 22-9 lead in the turnover battle to defeat visiting Gannon.
FLOCK TALK
West Chester enters play riding a four-game winning streak after defeating Goldey-Beacom by an 89-73 final in its non-league finale on Saturday afternoon. PSAC East Athlete of the Week
Elijah Allen registered his second consecutive 25-point effort with a 26-point outburst against GBC on Saturday, while
Mirko Bramati had a career day, finishing with 20 points and eight rebounds.
Joshua Walker added 17 points and six rebounds, while
Anthony Purnell Jr. came away with 10 points and tied with Allen for the team lead in assists with seven. West Chester never trailed on Saturday afternoon and scored a season-high 89 points behind a 46.5 % (33-of-71) field goal effort and a 9-for-21 (42.9 %) effort from beyond the arc.
Allen has continued to be a problem for opposing defenses in 2023-24, entering play on Monday night, averaging 18.4 points per game, which ranks first on the team, while also ranking third in rebounding (4.3/g) and assists (1.5/g). The sensational junior has scored in double figures in the last six games with three 20+-point efforts, averaging 20.8 points per game during that span. Allen's best performance of the young season came on Saturday, December 2, against Edinboro when he nearly matched his career-high, finishing with 28 points on 11-of-20 shooting from the field, including a pair of makes from three-point range.
Jordan Kellier (Kingston, Jamaica/Redemption Christian) and Walker have been excellent down low for West Chester through the first month-and-a-half of the season, ranking second and third on the team in scoring, averaging 13.4 and 10.4 points per game while also ranking first and second in rebounding, averaging 9.5 and 6.6 rebounds per game. Kellier's 9.5 rebounds per game, which includes an 18-rebound effort against Wilmington earlier this season, ranks him 21
st in DII in rebounds per game while also ranking 20
th in the Nation in defensive rebounding, averaging 6.7 rebounds per game.
As a team, West Chester enters play averaging 75.6 points per game, shooting 42.7 % from the field and 27.9 % from beyond the arc, while also shooting 71.1 % from the line and averaging a +5.9-rebounding margin (38.5-32.6) on the year. West Chester is 4-2 when outrebounding its opponents this season and ranks 21
st in DII in offensive rebounding, averaging 14.1 offensive rebounds per game, translating into a 104-63 lead in second-chance points so far this season. The Golden Rams' effort inside has been vital to their success this season, earning all five victories (5-1) when outscoring its opponents in the paint, holding a 219-154 (27.4/g-19.2/g) advantage over its foes in such games.
SCOUTING MERCYHURST
Mercyhurst enters play with a record of 5-5 on the year and a mark of 1-1 in league action. Winners of each of its last two and averaging 70.1 points per game, the Lakers appear to be trending in the right direction as league play ramps up. The defense has been the calling card for head coach Gary Manchel's bunch this season, holding opponents to an average of 66.0 points per game and forcing the opposition into an average of 15.5 turnovers while committing just over 13 (13.1/g) of its own.
Most recently, Mercyhurst rolled past Division III foe Fredonia, winning by an 83-24 final in Erie after jumping out to a 51-16 lead heading into the halftime break. The Lakers made 30 field goals and shot 46.9 % from the floor while also shooting 62.1 % from the stripe in the victory. Junior forward Aidan Reichert led the Lakers in scoring with 15 points, while freshman guard Alex Parks posted a team-best eight rebounds and six steals in the victory.
Mercyhurst enters at .500 on the year; however, only four of the five wins have come against Division II competition, and those four teams enter next week with a combined record of 9-30 on the year. Jeff Planutis leads the team in scoring, averaging 17.2 points per game, while also leading the Lakers in assists, averaging 2.9 per game. Reichert ranks second on the team in scoring, averaging 11.7 points per game, while also leading the team in rebounding, averaging 5.6 rebounds per game.
SCOUTING GANNON
For its part, Gannon enters play in the midst of one of the best starts in program history under first-year head coach Jordan Fee. After a difficult 2022-23 season, Gannon has rebounded in unprecedented fashion, playing to a mark of 8-0 to open the year, including six-100-point efforts, which is tied with the 1968-69 season for the most 100-point games in a single season in program history. Nationally ranked in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) poll for the first time since the 2020-21 season, Gannon continued its hot start to the year on Wednesday night with a 104-56 thrashing of Salem (W.V.). Nathan Scheider led the Golden Knights in scoring, finishing with 28 points, while Derrick Anderson and Zachary Hobbs came away with 15 points each in the victory.
Averaging 115.6 points per game, Gannon has the top-ranked scoring offense in Division II, thanks in part to an average of 25.8 turnovers forced per game and an average of 18.0 offensive rebounds per game, both of which rank atop DII men's basketball as well. As a team, Gannon shoots a blistering 52.6 % from the field and 40.6 % from three-point range as one of the higher-paced offensive units in DII.
Josh Omojoafo, who scored 12 in the win over Salem, is the team's leading scorer, averaging 20.9 points per game as one of five players in double figures for the year. Zachary Hobbs and Lyle Tipton are second and third on the team in scoring, averaging 14.3 and 12.3 points per game, respectively. Mike Montano, who averages 8.1 points per game, is the team's leading rebounder, averaging 6.1 rebounds per game entering play on Monday night.
UP NEXT
After West Chester completes its back-to-back set in Erie, which will be the third and final time for the 2023-24 regular season, the Golden Rams will return home on December 30 to welcome Clarion to Hollinger for a 3 p.m. tip in what will be the team's first home game in three weeks.
