WEST CHESTER, Pa.- West Chester (15-6, 10-5) led for much of the game and led by as many as 14 late in the first half but it took a late-game run to push the Golden Rams past Kutztown (5-15, 5-10) by a 77-72 final on Wednesday night.
West Chester put together a strong first-half performance, but Kutztown would not go away quietly, eventually taking a five-point lead midway through the first half and holding a slim one-point lead with under a minute to play in regulation before West Chester rallied back, ending the game on a 6-0 run to earn a narrow 77-72 victory.
Kyle McGee (Jersey City, N.J./St. Mary's of the Assumption) turned in a career night, finishing with 28 points, six rebounds, and six assists to lead a trio of Golden Rams in double figures and lead West Chester past upset-minded Kutztown on Wednesday night.
Robert Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) finished with 18 points on 5-of-17 shooting and a perfect 6-of-6 from the line, including a 4-for-4 effort at the stripe in the final seconds of regulation to help WCU hold off Kutztown.
Joshua Walker (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist) also had a strong night, finishing with 12 points and eight rebounds to help lead WCU past its Eastern Division rivals.
Robert Tucker led Kutztown in scoring with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting as one of four in double figures, while Kyree Generett added 17 to go along with 14 from Jalen Bryant and a double-double from
Josh Samec, who finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
West Chester jumped out to an early 4-0 lead before Kutztown countered with an 8-4 run to erase the deficit before eventually sneaking out to a slim two-point lead with just under 15 minutes to play in the first half. As the half continued, West Chester erased the two-point deficit as quickly as it had come, eventually extending the lead to as many as 14 with 1:25 to play in the first half. Kutztown closed the first half on a 4-0 run to trail by 10 (38-28) heading into the halftime break.
At the half, McGee led all scorers with 12 points of 5-of-9 shooting, while Walker appeared to be well on his way to another double-double, logging nine points and six rebounds through the first 20 minutes of basketball.
Kyree Generett led the way in scoring for Kutztown in the first half, heading into the locker room with 10 points, while
Josh Samec finished the first half with six points and six rebounds.
Kutztown pulled back to within three points early in the second half before a pair of threes extended the West Chester lead back to 44-38 with 17:20 to play in regulation. West Chester eventually stretched its lead back to nine (49-40) with under 16 minutes to play.
Kutztown mounted yet another comeback, outscoring WCU 8-3 over the next four minutes of action to pull back to within three (51-48) before the Golden Rams stretched the lead back to 53-48. Kutztown was far from finished the as the Golden Bears went on another quick run, outscoring West Chester 14-6 to take a 62-57 lead with 7:36 to play.
Over the next three minutes, West Chester countered with a 10-4 run over the next three-and-a-half minutes capping it off a three-point play by McGee and an impressive block on the other end by Walker. West Chester extended its lead to 69-66 moments later after a trip to the line by Purnell Jr. before Kutztown pulled back within a pair (69-67) with 2:15 to play. West Chester extended its lead back to four points following a late layup by McGee before Kutztown put together one final run of its own to take a 72-71 lead following a layup by Tucker. West Chester closed the game out on a 6-0 run, with all six points coming at the free throw line as the Golden Rams held on for the 77-72 victory.
West Chester ended the game shooting 38.2 % (26-of-68) from the field and 4-for-25 (16.0 %) from three-point range while also going 21-of-25 (84.0 %) from the line in the narrow league victory. Kutztown's field-goal percentage was very similar to West Chester, shooting 39.7 % (25-of-63) from the field while going 9-for-26 (34.6 %) from three and 13-of-18 (72.2 %) from the line in the setback.
Behind the 11-rebound performance from Samec as the lone player for either team with double-digit rebounds, Kutztown ended the game with a 44-41 lead in rebounding, but West Chester finished the game with a 13-10 lead in second-chance points and a 36-26 lead in points in the paint. West Chester also finished the contest with a 22-13 advantage in points off turnovers and an 18-12 edge in points off the break to go along with a 10-8 advantage in points off the bench, led by five points from
Anthony Purnell Jr. (Chester, Pa./Kiski).
Up Next:
West Chester returns to action on Saturday afternoon at Mansfield beginning at 3 p.m.
