WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover) scored a game-high 26 points and added seven assists to help guide the West Chester University men's basketball team (5-3) to an 89-73 victory over Goldey Beacom College (5-4) on Saturday afternoon in Hollinger Field House.
Playing its final non-league game of the year and last home game for three weeks, West Chester started quickly racing out to an early lead and never faltered, leading by as many as 23 midway through the second half in the victory.
Allen was one of four Golden Rams in double figures as
Mirko Bramati (Bologna, Italy/St. Thomas More) turned in a career-best performance in both scoring and rebounding, finishing with 20 points and eight rebounds, while
Joshua Walker (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist) and
Anthony Purnell Jr. (Chester, Pa./Kiski) finished with 17 and 10, respectively. Purnell Jr. tied with Allen for the team lead in assists with seven as Allen set a new career-high in this category, while Purnell Jr. matched his career-best from a year ago against Shepherd. Bramati's eight rebounds led the way for West Chester on Saturday afternoon as
Jordan Kellier (Kingston, Jamaica/Redemption Christian) finished with seven, while Walker and
Moro Osumanu (Reading, Pa./Reading) came away with six each.
West Chester set a number of season-highs in the victory, scoring a season-high 89 points, thanks in part to a 46.5 % (33-of-71) field goal percentage and 42.9 % (9-of-21) three-point shooting percentage. The Golden Rams 33 made field goals and nine makes from three-point land set a new season-high in both categories for the Purple and Gold, while they also forced 22 turnovers, the most the defense has come away with this season. Five Golden Rams ended the game with three steals each as Purnell Jr, Smith, Allen, Bramati, and
Saleem Payne (Philadelphia, Pa./Phelps School) all came away with three. West Chester also shot 82.4 % (14-of-17) in the victory, including a 9-of-10 effort at the line in the second half.
West Chester raced out to an early 8-0 lead in the first two minutes of the contest thanks to four points each by Walker and Allen. The visitors went on a 12-8 run over the next six minutes to cut the West Chester lead down to four (16-12).
West Chester countered with a first-half run of its own, rattling off a 19-3 run, including a 12-0 scoring run, which allowed the Golden Rams to take a commanding 35-15 lead with 5:25 to play in the first half.
As the half continued, West Chester led by as many as 21, carrying a 43-25 lead into the halftime break, setting a new season-high for points scored while holding its guest to the lowest first-half scoring output of any game this season.
Allen led all scorers in the first half with 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field and a 4-for-4 effort at the line. As a team, West Chester shot 40.5 % (17-of-42) from the field and 4-for-11 (36.4 %) from beyond the arc while also connecting on 5-of-7 attempts at the line.
Facing a team averaging north of 87 points per game, West Chester played stifling defense in the first 20 minutes, holding the Lightning to just 36.0 % (9-of-25) shooting while forcing them into 14 turnovers, just five shy of the team's season-high after only 20 minutes of action.
Out of the halftime break, Goldey-Beacom outscored West Chester 11-6 through the first four minutes of the half, holding West Chester to just 3-of-8 shooting to open the half. After seeing its lead cut to 49-36 early in the second half, the Golden Rams corrected course quickly, going on another run to take a 68-47 lead with just under eight minutes to play in regulation.
West Chester continued to lead by double digits down the stretch, holding off the Lightning for an 89-73 victory to conclude non-league action.
Goldey-Beacom was led offensively by a 22-point performance from Ayshion Centeno, who scored 14 of his 22 points in the second half. Damani Thomas was the lone other Goldey-Beacom player to finish in double figures, pouring in 18 points of his own on 7-of-11 shooting in the loss.
Goldey-Beacom shot 44.1 % (26-of-59) from the field, including an even 50.0 % effort in the second half, while also shooting 36.4 % (8-of-22) from three-point land and 59.1 % (13-of-22) from the stripe in the victory.
West Chester ended the game with a 43-36 lead in rebounding, which resulted in a 19-4 lead in second-chance points, while also ending the game with a 27-16 lead in points off turnovers, a 40-32 advantage in the paint, a 10-8 lead in points off the break, and a 31-30 lead in points off the bench. Today's victory marked the first time all season that West Chester has led the way in every situational category and also finished one point shy of setting a new season-high for points off the bench.
Up Next:
West Chester returns to action on Monday, December 18, against Mercyhurst before facing Gannon on Tuesday, December 19, in the second game of its back-to-back in Erie, Pennsylvania.
