WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover) nearly set a new career-high, finishing with 28 points on 11-of-20 shooting to help lead the West Chester University men's basketball team (4-3, 2-0) to an 81-70 victory over Edinboro (2-5, 1-1) on Saturday afternoon.
Allen led all scorers in the victory and was one of three Golden Rams in double figures as
Jordan Kellier (Kingston, Jamaica/Redemption Christian) finished with 15 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and a 6-for-8 effort at the line while also corralling seven rebounds to go along with 14 points and eight rebounds from
Joshua Walker (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist). Walker also led the team in assists, finishing with five, along with two steals and a block in the triumph.
Edinboro got an early lead, using a 7-0 run to build a six-point lead with just under five minutes gone in the first half. West Chester erased this deficit as quickly as it had appeared, responding out of a timeout with a 7-0 run to retake the lead following a made three by
Mirko Bramati (Bologna, Italy/St. Thomas More).
West Chester and Edinboro traded baskets over the next few minutes as West Chester stretched its first-half lead to nine with under six minutes to play before halftime.
Edinboro battled back, cutting the deficit to two points after a made three by JJ Eubank, but a late tip-in by Allen gave West Chester a 38-34 lead heading into the halftime break.
Walker helped West Chester extend its lead early in the second half, going on a solo 5-0 run before Edinboro countered with a 5-0 run to cut the lead back down to four.
The visitors remained within striking distance over the next few minutes, but it was a late run by West Chester, which put the game out of reach for good. West Chester went on a 10-2 run near the midway point of the half to take a 70-56 lead, following the second made three of the day by Bramati. The game was never truly close from this point forward as Edinboro got the Golden Rams lead under double digits with 1:04 to play in regulation. Still, West Chester put the game away at the line, rolling to an 81-70 victory over Saturday afternoon.
The Golden Rams shot an even 50.0 % (15-of-3) from the field in the second half and went 9-for-13 at the line to close out the victory, improving upon a 46.7 % field-goal shooting performance in the opening 20 minutes of action. For the game, West Chester ended with a 48.3 % (29-of-60) field goal shooting percentage and a 36.8 % (7-of-19) effort from deep while also connecting on 16-of-24 (66.7 %) attempts at the line.
Bernie Blunt led the way for Edinboro on Saturday afternoon, finishing with 25 points of his own on 10-of-18 shooting, including a 3-for-11 effort from deep and a perfect 2-for-2 at the line. At the same time, Daunte Wilcott added 12 on 6-of-12 shooting as the lone other Edinboro played in double figures.
While the Fighting Scots ended the night with just two players in double figures, the visitors shot well throughout the day, finishing the game with a 51.9 % (28-of-54) field-goal shooting percentage, including a second-half performance, which saw them shoot 56.0 % (14-of-25) from the floor. From deep, Edinboro shot 31.6 % (6-of-19), connecting from range three times in each half while also shooting 80.0 % (8-of-10) from the line.
West Chester ended the game with a 38-22 lead in rebounding and a 15-14 lead in the turnover battle, resulting in a 19-8 lead in second-chance points and an 18-14 lead in points off turnovers. West Chester also finished the game with a 40-32 lead in points in the paint and a 12-7 advantage in points off the break.
The Golden Rams bench accounted for 12 points in the victory as Bramati and
Moro Osumanu (Reading, Pa./Reading) finished with six points each, while Osumanu led the team in rebounding with 10 boards.
Up Next:
West Chester returns to action on Saturday afternoon against Goldey Beacom beginning at 1 p.m. in the final game of a three-game homestand for West Chester. Following its non-league finale vs Goldey-Beacom, West Chester will head to Erie to take on Mercyhurst and Gannon on December 18 and 19 before returning home to host Clarion on December 30 in the final game of the 2023 half of the season.
