WEST CHESTER, Pa.- The West Chester men's basketball team (19-7, 14-6) is set to host one of its bigger home games in recent memory on Wednesday night, as the Golden Rams welcome Millersville (17-9, 14-6) to Hollinger for a pivotal PSAC East clash. West Chester and Millersville are currently locked atop the PSAC East standings in a fight for one of the top two seeds in the upcoming PSAC Tournament when it begins next week.
With a victory over the Marauders on Wednesday night, West Chester will significantly improve its chances of earning one of the coveted top two seeds, with all the privileges that come along with it, including a first-round bye and the potential to host the PSAC Semifinals and Championship, should the Golden Rams be the top seed remaining in the East after the Quarterfinals on March 1
st.
Series Information
West Chester enters play holding a shrinking 105-102 lead in the all-time series over Millersville, currently finding itself in the midst of its longest losing streak against the Marauders under HC
Damien Blair. West Chester, who has gone 5-5 against Millersville in the last 10, may be primed to halt its streak, as the Golden Rams have won 12 of the last 15 at home against Millersville dating back to the 2007-08 season.
West Chester found itself behind early in the first half, eventually trailing 37-28 at the halftime break. West Chester attempted to put together a comeback in the second half, taking a 58-56 lead midway through the second half before Millersville pulled back ahead and never relinquished its lead, eventually earning a 79-72 win over West Chester.
Elijah Allen led the way with 19 points as one of four players in double figures, also finishing with six rebounds, three assists, and four steals.
Flock Talk
West Chester returns to action after another cardiac victory on Saturday afternoon, needing yet another corner jumper, this time from
Kyle McGee, to earn an 81-78 Senior Day victory over Lock Haven. West Chester trailed by eight at the half but stormed back in the second half, retaking the lead with nine minutes to play after a big three by
Robert Smith for three of his 15 points on the afternoon. In the final nine minutes of the game, West Chester appeared as if it might put the game out of reach, stretching its lead to as many as five and never trailing again. Lock Haven had other ideas and was uninterested in being the good, compliant senior day guests, which they had been marked as, tying the game at 78-78 with under 30 seconds to play after a driving layup by Dymir Montague. This set the stage for another dramatic finish as McGee brought the ball up and eventually made his way into the corner in front of the WCU bench; following a good screen by
Eli Barrett, McGee elevated and drained the eventual game-winner in the 81-78 win.
West Chester enters play riding a three-game winning streak, including a statement win over East Stroudsburg on February 8
th, completing its first season sweep of the Warriors since the 2008-09 season before winning a pair of nail-biters over Shepherd and Lock Haven. Against Shepherd and Lock Haven, West Chester found itself in two tightly-contested games, needing a big shot in the final three seconds of regulation, with Allen playing the hero at Shepherd before McGee took his turn again against Lock Haven to complete the victories. With these two wins, West Chester has now won four games in the final three seconds of play this season, defeating Lincoln on a buzzer-beater in OT to start the year before downing Shepherd at the buzzer twice and beating Lock Haven on a corner three with under three seconds to play in regulation on Saturday afternoon.
When the offense is performing at its peak level this year, West Chester has been extremely hard to beat, playing to a perfect 12-0 record when scoring 80 points or more while going just 7-6 when scoring under 80 points. West Chester has also been difficult to beat since the calendar turned to 2023, playing to a record of 12-3 since January 1 and 13-3 dating back to the win over Seton Hill on December 30.
Scouting Millersville
Millersville enters play following a heart-stopping win of its own last Wednesday night, beating Shippensburg in the final seconds of play on a backdoor put-back by Justin Nwosu to lift the Marauders to a 67-63 win over the Raiders. Nwosu came through late for Millersville to put the Marauders ahead by a pair with under five seconds to play in regulation before Millersville extended the lead at the free throw line with just tenths of a second to play after being fouled on hail-mary heave by the Raiders in the final seconds.
Matt Dade, who is making his long-awaited return to Hollinger on Wednesday night, led the way in this contest, finishing with 17 points, while, Nwosu led the team in rebounding with seven in the victory. As a team, Millersville shot 43.5 % from the field and 33.3 % from deep, connecting on five three-pointers, led by a pair of makes by Nwosu. The Marauders also ended the game with a 39-32 lead on the glass and a slim +1 (11-10) advantage in the turnover battle.
For the year, Millersville enters play averaging just under 71 (70.9) points per game, shooting 45.0 % from the field and 33.3 % from long range. Dade leads the team in scoring, averaging 11.6 points per game, while sophomore forward Drew Stover is close behind, averaging 10.4 per game. Nwosu, who is third in scoring, averaging 9.9 per game, leads the team in rebounding, averaging 5.2 rebounds per game, while Dade is close behind, averaging 4.8 per contest. Jahme Ested, a redshirt-sophomore guard from Richmond, Virginia, has taken on the role of the primary facilitator in the Millersville offense this year, leading the way, averaging 2.7 helpers per game entering the final week of the regular season.
Up Next:
West Chester returns to action at Bloomsburg on Saturday for its Regular Season finale beginning at 1 p.m., which is an unusually early start time for the men as they will be the first game of the doubleheader at Bloomsburg on Saturday.
