MANSFIELD, Pa.- Joshua Walker (Upper Marlboro, Md/Riverdale Baptist) posted a career-high 23 points, and 11 rebounds for another double-double as West Chester (16-6, 11-6) earned an important 78-68 road victory over Mansfield (5-15, 4-12) on Saturday afternoon.
Walker led a quartet of Golden Rams in double figures in the victory, which saw West Chester lead for much of the contest and never trail by more than three points, as
Kyle McGee (Jersey City, N.J./St. Mary's of the Assumption) finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds along with a team-high five assists as the second Golden Ram with a double-double.
Robert Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) added 14 points of his own, while
Eli Barrett (Harrisburg, Pa./Harrisburg) added 12 points in the victory.
West Chester shot 48.2 % (27-of-56) from the field despite connecting on just four three-point attempts (4-of-13 30.8 %) and shot 71.4 % (20-of-28) from the line in the win. West Chester held Mansfield to 39.3 % (22-of-56) shooting from the field and a 25.9 % (7-of-27) effort from three while also shooting 81.0 % (17-of-21) from the line.
Idris Ali led Mansfield in scoring, finishing with 19 points as the first of four Mountaineers in double figures in the victory as Michael Dickson had 12 while Manir Waller and Gabe Perez had 10 each in the setback.
West Chester got out to an early lead in the first half, taking an 8-3 lead just five minutes into the game after a good layup by
Robert Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt), maintaining a five-point advantage with just under nine minutes to go (20-15) before the Mounties answered with a 7-0 run over the next minute-and-a-half to erase the deficit and take a 22-20 lead.
West Chester and Mansfield traded baskets down the final seven minutes of the first half, but it was the Golden Rams who closed the half out on a 6-3 run over the final three minutes, with four of those six points coming from
Eli Barrett (Harrisburg, Pa./Harrisburg) as he ended the half with eight points to send WCU to the break leading 31-30.
West Chester stiffened defensively in the final minutes of the first half, holding Mansfield scoreless over the final 2:13 as the Mounties connected on just 1-of-8 from the field down the stretch of the opening half.
Mansfield's offensive drought continued into the second half as the Mounties did not score their first points of the second half until 18:52 and did not make their first field goal until there was 18:11 to play in regulation. This early drought did little to stem an early comeback effort by the Mounties as they erased the halftime deficit, taking a 40-38 lead with 16:01 to play in regulation. The two team's traded baskets before a three-pointer by Gabe Perez gave Mansfield a two-point lead once again (47-45) with 12 minutes to play.
West Chester countered with a 14-4 run over the next five minutes, getting back-to-back three's from McGee and
Anthony Purnell Jr. (Chester, Pa./Kiski) to spark the run before back-to-back two-pointers by
Joshua Walker (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist) to help West Chester erase the deficit and eventually take a 59-51 lead with seven minutes to play. Down the stretch, West Chester extended its lead, eventually pulling away for a 78-68 victory over Mansfield on the road on Saturday afternoon.
West Chester ended the game with a 39-30 lead in rebounding, including as 12-8 advantage in offensive rebounding, which translated into a 15-6 lead in second-chance points. West Chester, who forced Mansfield into 17 turnovers, ended the game with a 16-15 lead in points off turnovers and a 44-22 lead in points in the paint in the road victory.
Up Next:
West Chester returns to action on Monday night beginning at 8 p.m.
