WEST CHESTER, Pa.-In a game which was billed as a clash between two of the top teams in the PSAC East, with West Chester (20-7, 15-6) and Millersville (17-10, 14-7) went toe-to-toe for 50 minutes, playing for the right to get in the driver's seat for a top-two seed in the upcoming PSAC Tournament. The contest lived up to its billing and then some, going to double overtime before West Chester, led by seven overtime points by
Dame Wall (Philadelphia, Pa./Constitution) and another five from
Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover) in the second OT, pulled away for a 96-91 PSAC East triumph. Tonight's victory also ensured West Chester at least a top-two seed in the PSAC Tournament with the opportunity to earn its first PSAC East Regular Season title since 2006 with a win and Shippensburg loss on Saturday afternoon.
Tonight's win, which marked the Golden Rams second OT win of the year, also marked the third game in a row in which West Chester won either in the final seconds of regulation or in OT, as the Golden Rams improved to 20-7 overall and 15-6 in league play. This victory also marks the first double-overtime win for the Golden Rams since the 2015-16 season when West Chester outlasted Wilmington to win by a 103-92 final. It is the first conference win in double-OT since a 77-76 win over East Stroudsburg in the 1979-80 season. Combined with a Shippensburg loss earlier this evening, West Chester now sits in a tie for first atop the PSAC East standings, a position which, if coupled with a win over Bloomsburg on Saturday and a Shippensburg loss against Lock Haven, could hand the Golden Rams the PSAC Eastern Division crown.
Millersville never led by more than a point throughout regulation, holding a lead for just 33 seconds total in a game that featured six lead changes and 11 ties at the end of the first 40 minutes of play. By the time the game reached its conclusion, these numbers had ballooned to 15 ties and eight lead changes, with the final lead change coming from the Golden Rams. In the first OT, Millersville stretched its lead to four with 2:04 to play. Wall drilled a three from the top of the key with just under two minutes to play, sparking a 6-0 West Chester run, including five from Wall himself, as the Golden Rams held a two-point lead with under 16 seconds to play after a 1-for-2 trip to the line by
Kyle McGee (Jersey City, N.J./St. Mary's of the Assumption). Jahme Ested, who finished with 10 points, forced another overtime after hitting a driving layup with under 10 seconds to play, followed by a missed three by West Chester as time expired.
In the second extra session,
Michael McClain (Cheltenham, Pa./Cheltenham) hit perhaps the biggest shot of his young career to open the scoring with a three off a feed from Wall before Millersville countered with a two to pull back within a point. McClain's early three would not allow the Marauders to lead again, as the best the visitors could muster was tying the score at 89 after a driving layup by
Matt Dade and again at 91 after a jumper by Ested. With the score tied at 91-91, Allen, who played nearly the full 50 minutes, went to work, ensuring West Chester would not have to play a third overtime, scoring five unanswered, beginning with a driving layup with 1:33 to play. Fouled on the drive, Allen stepped to the line and knocked down his one free throw to make it a three-point lead before stretching the lead to five in the closing seconds with a pair of makes at the free-throw line.
Wall was outstanding in overtime, finishing the extra sessions with eight points, five rebounds, and four assists, getting seven of these eight points, four of the five rebounds, and three of his four assists in OT to help will the Golden Rams to the victory.
Elijah Barrett (Harrisburg, Pa./Harrisburg) tied for the team lead in scoring with 21 points and 17 rebounds, both of which were career highs for the senior forward, while
Robert Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) finished with 21 points of his own. Allen, who had 15 at the end of regulation, played tremendously well in the second overtime, helping to lead the Golden Rams in the final five minutes, scoring each of the last five points for WCU as the Golden Rams pulled away for a 96-91 victory.
Kyle McGee (Jersey City, N.J./St. Mary's of the Assumption) also played well in the victory, finishing with 11 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists as West Chester picked up a critical PSAC East victory.
For Millersville, Dade did all he could to lead his team to a victory over his old squad, finishing with 33 points and nine rebounds, shooting an impressive 12-of-17 from the field and 9-for-12 from the line, while Justin Nwosu finished with 15 of his own in the setback. Keith Mency and Ested each finished with 10 points as well, while Ested led the way in assists with six helpers in the loss.
West Chester ended the game shooting 45.3 % (34-of-75) from the field and 9-for-25 (36.0 %) from three-point range while also going 19-of-25 (76.0 %) at the line to earn the pivotal PSAC East win. For Millersville, the Marauders shot just 44.4 % (32-of-72) from the field and 5-for-25 (20.0 %) from three-point territory while also going 22-of-31 (71.0 %) from the line. Millersville and West Chester combined to make just 4-of-20 from beyond the arc in the two overtime periods, with both sides connecting from long range twice, as Millersville was 2-of-6 while West Chester was 2-for-10 from deep.
While the game took overtime to decide a victor, a title which each team would have been worthy of after the quality of the game and evenness of the matchup, West Chester seldom trailed and even got out to an early lead, leading by as many as 15 in the early stages of regulation.
West Chester raced out to an early 20-5 lead just over five minutes into the first half, using a 13-0 run to take the commanding lead before Millersville responded with an equally impressive run. Millersville answered with a quick 12-0 run to tie the score at 22-22, but the Golden Rams would not trail again in the half.
West Chester stretched its lead back to seven points by the end of the first half, outscoring the Marauders 15-8 down the first half stretch to carry a 37-30 lead into the halftime break.
Eli Barrett (Harrisburg, Pa./Harrisburg) finished the first half with a double-double, scoring 10 points to go along with 12 rebounds, while
Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover) led the Golden Rams in the first half, scoring with 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting through the first 20 minutes of action.
Making his return to Hollinger field house,
Matt Dade impressed in the first half, scoring 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and a 4-for-4 effort at the line to keep the Marauders in the game in the first half.
Early in the second half, Millersville began mounting its comeback, tying the game up early before trailing 47-44 with 15:10 to play in regulation.
Over the next few minutes, the game remained close, although Millersville continued to outscore its hosts, tying the score up at 55-55 with under 12 minutes to play before taking a 56-55 lead after a 1-for-2 trip to the line.
As the second half wound its way closer to its conclusion, West Chester continued to hold off Millersville, holding a 64-61 lead with under eight minutes to play after a made three by McClain and a subsequent layup by Barrett.
Looking for the knockout, the two teams continued to trade blows down the stretch of regulation, but 40 minutes would not be nearly enough to decide a winner as the game went to two overtimes before West Chester could put away its PSAC East foes in a 96-91 victory.
West Chester, who entered the game a perfect 12-0 when scoring 80 or more points, kept this impressive stat alive tonight, improving to 13-0 in such games while also improving to 17-2 in games in which it wins the rebounding battle, ending the night with a 48-41 lead on the glass. West Chester did commit 13 turnovers while forcing just nine of its own, but this did not prove costly for West Chester, finding itself outscored 15-14 in points off turnovers at the end of the game. West Chester and Millersville did end the game tied at 48-48 in points in the paint, while West Chester held a 21-19 lead in second-chance points and a 16-5 lead in points off the break.
Up Next:
West Chester returns to action on Saturday afternoon in its regular-season finale, squaring off against Bloomsburg beginning at 1 p.m.
