ERIE, Pa.- Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover) finished with 18 points on 5-of-11 shooting and eight rebounds to help lead the West Chester University men's basketball team (6-3, 3-0) to a 68-63 victory over Mercyhurst (5-6, 1-2) inside the Mercyhurst Athletic Center on Monday evening.
West Chester found itself locked in a tight contest throughout much of the evening, leading by double digits only briefly in the late stages of the second half. Tied at 44-44 with 10:35 to play in regulation, West Chester went on a 20-7 run, which saw the team shoot 60.0 % (6-of-10) to take a 62-51 lead with under four minutes to play en route to the five-point victory.
Today's victory gives West Chester its first victory over Mercyhurst since an OT victory in the 2019-20 season while also giving the Golden Rams their first win in Erie since the 2009 season when the team prevailed by a 63-58 final.
Allen was one of four Golden Rams in double figures in the victory, as he was joined by
Robert Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt), who finished with 15,
Joshua Walker (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist) with 14 and
Jordan Kellier (Kingston, Jamaica/Redemption Christian) with 13 of his own in the victory. Kellier also led the team in rebounding, coming away with nine in the victory, while Allen corralled eight of his own as both players narrowly missed out on a double-double.
Sean Fullerton led the way for Mercyhurst, finishing with 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including a made three at the buzzer, but it was not enough to help his Lakers improve to 2-1 in PSAC play. Aidan Reichert and Jeff Planutis also finished in double figures, scoring 12 and 10, respectively.
West Chester jumped out to an 8-4 lead just two minutes in after a made three by
Robert Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) with 18 minutes to play in the half. The Golden Rams continued to lead as the half progressed, surging ahead to a 14-7 lead after a 6-0 run courtesy of layups by
Jordan Kellier (Kingston, Jamaica/Redemption Christian), Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover), and Moro Osumanu (Reading, Pa./Reading) with 12:45 to play in the opening half.
Mercyhurst battled back, retaking the lead at 16-13 after a made three by Sean Fullerton, giving him 12 of the 16 points for the Lakers, but the Golden Rams responded quickly, going on a 7-0 run of their own thanks in part to a pair of three's by Kellier and Smith to take a 21-16 lead. West Chester stretched its lead to 24-18, nearly matching its largest lead of the game. Smith and Kellier continued their big first-half performances down the stretch of the opening stanza, increasing their scoring totals to 11 and seven respectively, to help West Chester take a 31-30 lead into the halftime break.
Smith led West Chester in scoring in the first half, finishing with 11, while Fullerton posted a team-high 14 to lead Mercyhurst and all scorers in the opening 20 minutes of action.
West Chester shot an even 50.0 % (12-of-24) from the field in the opening half, including 37.5 (3-of-8) from three-point territory to go along with 57.1 % (4-of-7) shooting at the line. Mercyhurst followed a similar script, shooting 40.0 % (8-of-20) from the field while connecting on 60.0 % (6-of-10) from three-point territory and shooting 80.0 % (8-of-10) from the line in the first 20 minutes of action.
The Golden Rams also went to the break with a 14-9 lead in rebounding, including a 4-3 advantage on the offensive glass, which translated into a 4-2 lead in second-chance points.
West Chester and Mercyhurst traded baskets to open the second half as the score was tied at 44-44 with 10:35 to play in regulation. Mercyhurst snuck out to a 47-44 lead and led 51-50 with 8:04 to play in regulation, which proved to be the Lakers' final lead of the game as the Golden Rams answered with a 12-0 run with five points from Allen and three from Walker to take a commanding 62-51 lead with under three minutes to play in regulation.
Mercyhurst halted the run with a pair of free throws with 2:06 left, but a 1-for-2 trip to the line by
Joshua Walker (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist) restored a 63-53 lead for the Golden Rams.
Mercyhurst continued its ill-fated comeback bid down the stretch, pulling back to within 10 multiple times in the final minutes of regulation, but it was not enough to complete the comeback as West Chester earned the 68-63 victory.
West Chester shot 51.2 % (22-of-43) from the field, including 28.6 % (4-of-14) from three-point range and 20-for-28 (71.4 %) from the line to capture its first win in Erie since the 2008-09 season. In addition to turning in its best field goal percentage of the season, surpassing its 50.9 % effort against Chestnut Hill in non-league play, West Chester also finished the game with a 32-16 lead in rebounding, which resulted in a 10-5 lead in second-chance points. West Chester also ended the game with a 20-10 lead in points off the bench and a 26-18 lead in points in the paint as the Golden Rams improved to 3-0 in league action for the first time since the 2019-20 season.
Mercyhurst shot 41.3 % (19-of-46) from the field in the setback, including a 41.7 % (10-of-24) effort from three-point range and 15-for-18 (83.3 %) performance from the line.
Up Next:
West Chester concludes its stay in Erie tomorrow night against No. 18/17 Gannon beginning at 7:30 p.m. Following this game, West Chester will have another 10-day break before returning to action against Clarion on December 30, beginning at 3 p.m. in Hollinger Field House.
