MANSFIELD, Pa.- After picking up its first sweep of an Eastern Division opponent of the 2022-23 season on Wednesday night with a narrow win over Kutztown, the West Chester men's basketball team (15-6, 10-5) has turned its attention to a battle with Mansfield (5-14, 4-11) on Saturday afternoon beginning at 3 p.m.
Series Information
West Chester enters play holding a 57-34 lead in the all-time series after picking up a victory over the Mounties by a 70-68 final earlier this season in Hollinger, avoiding a losing streak after falling to the Mounties on the road last year. West Chester has gone 23-4 against Mansfield under the tutelage of head coach
Damien Blair, including a 12-game winning streak from 2011-16.
Elijah Allen hit a clutch three with just under three minutes to play in regulation to give West Chester back a 65-63 lead and quell any Mansfield thoughts of a comeback victory after leading by as many as 14 early in the second half. West Chester closed the game out at the free throw line, holding on for a 70-68 victory over the Mounties.
Kyle McGee led the way in scoring with 20 points while Allen finished with 16, including his clutch late three as WCU picked up its first win of the New Year.
Flock Talk
West Chester returned to action on Wednesday night at home against Kutztown, and despite a 4-for-25 effort from three-point range West Chester came back for a 77-72 victory over Kutztown. West Chester led by as many as 14 just before halftime, carrying a 38-28 lead into the halftime break before Kutztown began its comeback effort. Kutztown went on a 14-0 run midway through the second half, erasing the deficit and taking a five-point lead with under eight minutes to play, which would be the Golden Bears largest lead of the game. West Chester came back to take a 71-67 lead, but a 5-0 run that concluded with just under a minute to play in regulation gave the Golden Bears a 72-71 lead with 42 seconds to play in regulation. West Chester closed the game out on a 6-0 run at the free throw line, including four makes by
Robert Smith, who ended with 18 points after a 6-for-6 effort at the stripe to earn a narrow 77-72 victory.
Kyle McGee turned in a career night in the victory, finishing with 28 points on 11-of-20 shooting, shooting an impressive 10-of-12 from inside the three-point arc to lift WCU to the victory.
Having won each of its last two games, holding opponents under 75 points in each of those games, West Chester enters play with a mark of 15-6 on the year and a 77.6 point per game scoring average while holding opponents to 73.5 points per game. From the field, West Chester has shot 43.3 % on the year while its opponents have shot 43.7 %, although the Golden Rams and their opponents have been equal from beyond the arc, both shooting 31.8 % on the season. West Chester continues to do good work on the glass, averaging 40.6 rebounds per game, which is the best in the PSAC, including 13.6 rebounds offensive rebounds per game, which is also the best in the PSAC. Averaging 14.9 second-chance points per game, rebounding has been a key for the Golden Rams throughout the season, playing to a mark of 12-2 in games where it wins the rebounding battle while going 3-4 in games where it loses this battle, including a win over Kutztown on Wednesday night.
Scouting Mansfield
Mansfield enters play on a three-game losing streak after falling to East Stroudsburg on Wednesday night by a 95-70 final. Mansfield found itself trailing by eight at the half and was unable to mount a second-half comeback, being outscored 54-37 over the final 20 minutes in the 25-point setback. The Mounties did not shoot poorly on Wednesday night, shooting 41.4 % from the field and 33.3 % from three-point range while also shooting 82.4 % from the line, connecting on 14 free throws in the setback. The game was also close on the glass, with ESU holding a slim 36-34 lead in rebounding, but it was a 20-13 loss in the turnover battle and a 3-1 loss in blocked shots, which spelled doom for Mansfield in the loss. Jordan Montgomery led the way in scoring with 16 points along with three rebounds, connecting on four of the team's eight three-pointers in the setback. Manir Waller also led the way team in rebounding, pulling down six rebounds to go along with the lone Mansfield block in the loss.
As a team, Mansfield averages 69.1 points per game, shooting 40.5 % from the field and 31.5 % from three-point territory while also shooting 72.9 % from the line. Aside from a relatively low field goal and three-point shooting percentage on the year, turnovers have also been costly for Mansfield this year, committing an average of 14.4 per game, losing the turnover battle by an average of -2.2 per game through 19 games. Individually, Idris Ali leads the team in scoring, averaging 13.5 points per game, while his younger brother Saraj Ali is third on the team in scoring, averaging 10.1 points per game, while leading the team in rebounding, averaging 7.3 per game. Sophomore forward Scott Woodring is also averaging in double figures so far this year, averaging 10.4 per game while ranking second on the team in rebounding, averaging 6.4 rebounds per contest. Manir Waller, who led the way in rebounding on Wednesday night, has been the team's assist leader throughout the year, averaging 1.9 helpers per game while also ranking third on the team in rebounding (5.4/g) and steals (0.9/g).
Up Next:
West Chester returns to action on Monday night at Shippensburg beginning at 8 p.m.
