WEST CHESTER, Pa.- The West Chester University men's basketball team (7-4, 3-1) returns home this afternoon for its final home game of the 2023 season against the Clarion University Golden Eagles (5-5, 3-1) in the fifth of six PSAC Crossover matchups this season.
Series Information
West Chester enters play with a record of 11-9 against Clarion, winners of each of the last seven games in the series between the two teams. The two sides first squared off in 1998, resulting in a 64-61 victory for the Golden Eagles as they dominated the series' early years. West Chester has not lost to today's Western Division foe since the 2012-13 season when the team earned a 78-66 victory to spark the current seven-game winning streak. A year ago, West Chester posted an 82-75 win against Clarion behind two double-doubles from Eli Barrett (27/10) and Joshua Walker (14/12), shooting 43.5 to earn the road victory. West Chester has not hosted Clarion since the 2016-17 season and has won each of the last two meetings in Hollinger, with the last home loss and loss overall coming in December 2011 by an 80-77 final in OT.
It bears noting that West Chester has been hard to beat in the first game back from the Holiday break, playing to a record of 10-4 in such games, including wins in each of the last five such games.
 Flock Talk
Off to its best start in PSAC action since the 2019-20 season, when the team opened the year 13-0 overall and 7-0 in league play, the West Chester University men's basketball will look to improve to 7-4 and 4-1 in league play this afternoon against a worthy opponent in Clarion. Last Tuesday night, West Chester led briefly and trailed by just six at the half, but it was an early second-half run that allowed nationally-ranked Gannon to surge ahead to a 114-94 victory. Elijah Allen led the team in scoring with 24 points on 7-of-15 shooting, while Robert Smith added 20 to go along with a double-double (11 points/10 rebounds) from Jordan Kellier as the Golden Rams set new season-highs for points scored as a team.
Playing its final game of the 2023 half of the schedule, West Chester enters play averaging 76.7 points per game, shooting 43.9 % from the floor and 28.9 % from beyond the arc, led by Elijah Allen, who has been a force in recent weeks, averaging a team-best 18.9 points per game. An integral part of the team's recent success, Allen has scored in double figures in the last eight games, including four 20+ point performances, with three of those efforts coming in the last four games. During this stretch, Allen averaged 20.9 points per game and an equally impressive 21.3 points per game in Crossover play.
Jordan Kellier leads the team in rebounding, averaging 9.5 rebounds per game, while also ranking third in scoring (10.7/g) and second in assists (2.4/g) has been a force to be reckoned with in his first season as a Golden Ram entering play on Saturday 18th in Division II men's basketball and second in the PSAC in rebounds per game, while also ranking 18th in DII in defensive rebounds per game, averaging 6.9 per game. Kellier's efforts have helped West Chester have a dominant inside game this season, entering play with a record of 6-2 in games where it outscores its opponent in the paint, outscoring teams by a 245-172 (27.2-19.1/game) margin in such games, while also going 5-2 when outrebounding its opponent. The Golen Rams have also outscored their foes in second-chance points on seven different occasions this season, holding a 129-89 advantage in this area.
Scouting Clarion
Clarion enters play coming off a win in its last game before the Holiday break, a convincing 92-72 victory over Kutztown on December 19. This win gave the Golden Eagles their fourth win in their last six games, also rebounding nicely after having a similar start to the year as the Golden Rams.
Steve Kelly scored a team-high 20 points in the win over Kutztown and sits second on the team in scoring, averaging 14.8 points per game, while also leading the team in assists, averaging 4.4 per game. Cam Kearney is the Golden Eagles' leading scorer, averaging 15.6 points per game and ranking second in rebounding, averaging 6.1 rebounds per game.
As a team, Clarion averages 76.3 points per game and allows the same while also shooting 44.3 % from the field and 30.2 % from three-point range heading into the 11th game of the 2023-24 season.
Up Next:
West Chester will head back out on the road for a two-game trip to California (Pa.) on January 3 in the final crossover game of the year before facing Lock Haven on January 6 in the first PSAC East game of the season. The Golden Rams will play their PSAC East home opener on January 10 against Shepherd beginning at 7:30 before hosting East Stroudsburg on January 13 in a rematch of the 2023 PSAC Quarterfinal between the two rivals.
