WEST CHESTER, Pa.- The West Chester University men's basketball team (9-5, 6-2) has corrected course quickly and impressively since the calendar turned to December, overcoming a 1-3 start to enter play 9-5 overall and 6-2 in league action on Saturday afternoon against No. 16/13 East Stroudsburg University (12-1, 6-1) beginning at 3 p.m.. Winners of eight of its last 10 entering play on Saturday, West Chester, who captured a share of its first Regular Season crown since 2006, is off to its best start in league action since the 2019-20 season when the team was 7-0 to open conference play. West Chester bounced back from its PSAC East opening loss at Lock Haven with an 82-72 win over Shepherd on Wednesday night.
Today's game is also Alumni Day for West Chester, presented by the West Chester University Alumni Association.
SERIES INFORMATION
West Chester enters play with a 92-78 all-time record against East Stroudsburg. Despite the series dating back to at least 1927, West Chester has still found ways to make history against the Warriors, including a 106-98 victory a year ago in Hollinger, which was the most points scored by the Golden Rams in the history of the rivalry. This effort helped WCU sweep the season series from ESU for the first time since 2008-09 before falling to the Warriors in the PSAC Quarterfinals. The Golden Ram's two regular-season victories halted a six-game losing streak for WCU in the series against the Warriors dating back to a home loss in the 2018-19 season.
WHAT'S HAPPENING ON THE FLOOR
Before today's game, West Chester will recognize junior captain
Elijah Allen for scoring his 1000th career point in the win over Shepherd on Wednesday night. West Chester will also recognize legendary head men's and women's basketball coaches Deirdre Kane and Dick DeLaney with a ceremony that will formally unveil plans for a redesign and renaming of the court in Hollinger Field House. When work is completed ahead of the next basketball season, the court will bear the name Kane-DeLaney court in recognition of this legendary duo's contributions to Golden Rams basketball throughout their careers. The two coaches led the Golden Rams for 27 years each and combined for 847 wins in their tenures.
FLOCK TALK
On Wednesday night, West Chester improved to 2-1 in 2024 and 6-2 in league action with an 82-72 victory over Shepherd. West Chester trailed only briefly and led by as many as 20 midway through the second half, although this does not adequately tell the game's story as Shepherd closed the WCU lead to as few as four late in the second half.
Robert Smith, who finished with 12 points on 3-of-8 shooting from the field, hit a critical three with just over a minute to play, and
Anthony Purnell Jr. picked up his first career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 10 rebounds to help hold off the visiting Rams.
Jordan Kellier finished with 16 points of his to go along with 14 from
Elijah Allen as he eclipsed the 1,000-point plateau and 13 more from
Joshua Walker as the entire starting five scored in double figures for the first time since a 72-57 victory over Kutztown on 1/7/23.
Allen and Smith remain the Golden Rams leading scorers on the year, averaging 19.9 and 15.5 points per game, respectively. Kellier nearly averages a double-double, averaging 11.8 points and 9.9 rebounds per game, which allows the grad transfer forward to lead the PSAC in rebounding entering play on Saturday. As a team, West Chester averages 79.3 points per game, shooting 45.1 % from the field and 34.4 % from three-point range, while also averaging a +4.6 advantage per game in rebounding, collecting 37.7 rebounds per game compared to 33.1 by its opponents. West Chester is an impressive 7-2 this season when outscoring its opponents in the paint, holding a 323 (35.8/g)-212 (23.5/g) advantage in such games. West Chester has also done well on second-chance points this year, holding a 192-126 lead in this category as the Golden Rams rank 27th in Division II offensive rebounding, averaging 13.3 per game.
SCOUTING ESU
East Stroudsburg enters play following an impressive win of its own, a 120-92 victory over Goldey-Beacom, setting a new program record for points in a non-league game in the Warriors DII history. ESU surged out to a 65-45 halftime lead and never looked back in the second half, outscoring the visiting Lightning 55-47 in the second half to earn the victory. Lakeem McAliley and Jaelen McGlone led the team in scoring with 17 and 16 points each as two of five Warriors in double figures.
Averaging 87.8 points per game, ESU boasts the second-best offense in the PSAC and the highest-scoring offense in the PSAC East, shooting 45.9 % from the field and 32.1 % from three-point range as one of the most dangerous offensive units in the league once again. McAliley is the Warriors' leading scorer on the year, averaging 15.2 points per game, while also leading the team in rebounding, averaging 8.2 rebounds per game. Nasir Griffin and Jaelen McGlone each average 12.4 points per game, while Griffin, who led the team in rebounding with eight on Wednesday night, ranks second in rebounding, averaging 5.2 per game.
UP NEXT
Today is the second and final game of the Golden Ram's two-game homestand as the team heads to Kutztown next Wednesday night and Shippensburg on the 24th before hosting Mansfield on January 27 at 3 p.m. in its next home game.
