WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Looking to build off an 82-72 victory over Shepherd in its PSAC East home opener on Wednesday night, the West Chester University men's basketball team (9-6, 6-3) hosted No. 16/13 East Stroudsburg (13-1, 7-1) on Alumni Day in Hollinger Field House. West Chester led in the early stages of the first half, but the Warriors managed to spoil the Golden Rams alumni day celebrations, escaping Hollinger with a 94-79 victory over the Golden Rams.
Before Saturday afternoon's game, West Chester honored senior captain
Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover) for scoring his 1000
th career point in the victory over Shepherd on Wednesday night in addition to a special ceremony to formally unveil the plans for a redesign and renaming of the Court in Hollinger Field House in honor of longtime head coaches Deirdre Kane and Dick DeLaney.
It was a special day in Hollinger as we had the chance to celebrate a new career assist record by Leah Johnson, a new 1000-point scorer in Elijah Allen, and formally unveil the plan to rename the court in Hollinger in honor of longtime coaches Deirdre Kane and Dick DeLaney! pic.twitter.com/3vqRx9xkpl
— West Chester Golden Rams (@WCUAthletics) January 13, 2024
Despite the setback,
Joshua Walker (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist) matched his career-high in scoring with 23 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field and a 9-for-11 effort from the line, while also corralling seven rebounds in the setback.
Robert Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) had a big second half to finish with 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting, and
Jordan Kellier (Kingston, Jamaica/Redemption Christian) was the final Golden Ram in double figures with 15 points and a team-best eight rebounds.
For East Stroudsburg, the ever-dangerous Lakeem McAliley led all scorers with 27 points on 9-of-16 shooting, five rebounds, four assists, and four steals. Jaelen McGlone added 20 points, while Tyshawn Trail chipped in 14 off the bench to lead all second-unit players in the victory.
West Chester led early on Saturday night, leading 20-16 with just over 11:30 to play following a make by Kellier, but ESU responded with a 19-3 run to take a 35-23 lead with under five minutes to play in the first half. West Chester responded well to end the half, cutting the deficit to seven late in the half before heading to the break trailing 46-37.
Out of the halftime break, ESU opened with a quick rim-rattling dunk, but West Chester responded well, scoring six of the following eight points, which allowed the Warriors to cut the deficit to 51-45 with 16 minutes to play in regulation. West Chester stayed within striking distance over the next few minutes as a Smith three with just over 12 minutes to play made the score 57-51 in favor of the Warriors, but ESU responded with a quick 10-0 run, which eventually turned into a 19-9 run over the next six minutes, jumping out to a 76-60 lead over the Golden Rams.
ESU went on another 10-0 run late in the game on Saturday night, which helped the Warriors escape Hollinger with a 94-79 victory over the Golden Rams.
West Chester shot 44.1 % (26-of-59) from the field and 33.3 % (8-of-24) from three-point range while also shooting 86.4 % (19-of-22) from the line in the setback. East Stroudsburg shot tremendously well on Saturday afternoon, shooting 51.5 % (34-of-66) from the field, including a 38.1 % (8-of-21) effort from three-point range, while also shooting 75.0 % (18-of-24) from the line.
West Chester ended the game with a 35-33 lead on the glass, including an 11-10 lead on the offensive glass, which resulted in a 12-5 advantage in second-chance points. The turnover battle was crucial on Saturday as ESU ended the game with a 23-15 lead in turnovers and a commanding 36-9 lead in points off turnovers to go along with a 16-10 lead in points off the break.
Up Next:
West Chester returns to action next Wednesday night at Kutztown beginning at 7:30 p.m. in its lone game of the week. West Chester will not return home until January 27 against Mansfield beginning at 3 p.m.
