SHIPPENSBURG, Pa.- After picking up its ninth win in 12 tries last Wednesday night and enjoying a rare Saturday off, the West Chester University men's basketball team (10-6, 7-3) returns to the rigors of PSAC East play on Wednesday night with a visit to Shippensburg (5-11, 2-9) to renew its rivalry with the Raiders beginning at 8 p.m. in Heiges Field House.
SERIES INFORMATION
West Chester enters play with a record of 73-36 all-time against Shippensburg, despite dropping both ends of the season series a year ago for the first time since 2019-20 and just the second time in head coach
Damien Blair's tenure. West Chester has not won at Shippensburg since December of the 2015-16 season en route to a sweep of the Raiders for the fifth time in six seasons.
In the second meeting of the season series a year ago, West Chester traveled to Shippensburg and fell by an 84-68 final despite a career-high 23 points by
Anthony Purnell Jr. (Chester, Pa./Kiski). West Chester led early in this matchup but found itself trailing by nine at the half and by as many as 21 early in the second half of the loss. West Chester battled back from its 21-point deficit and cut the Shippensburg lead to just 10, but another late-game cold snap proved costly as the Raiders held on for the 16-point victory. Despite the setback, Purnell Jr. was one of four Golden Rams in double figures as
Kyle McGee chipped in 12 points to go along with 10 points each from
Robert Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) and
Joshua Walker (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist).
FLOCK TALK
Last Wednesday night, West Chester bounced back from a disappointing Alumni Day loss to ESU with an 87-76 victory over Kutztown as
Joshua Walker finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds to lead four Golden Rams in double figures in the victory. Walker scored his 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field and four makes at the charity stripe, going 4-for-11 from the line. The Golden Rams trailed by one at the half and found themselves down three just over a minute into the second half but never let the lead grow beyond this, erasing the deficit quickly and eventually going on an 11-0 run, which gave the Golden Rams a 14-point lead midway through the second half en route to the 11-point victory.
Elijah Allen added 17 points, along with 16 from
Robert Smith, who was a team-leading 4-for-6 from three-point territory. As a team, West Chester shot an even 50.0 % from the field and three-point range in the victory, shooting 56.0 % from the field and 75.0 % from deep in the second half of the victory.
As a team, West Chester enters play averaging 79.8 points per game, shooting 45.3 % from the field and 35.0 % from beyond the arc, while holding its opponents to an average of 78.4 points per game on 45.6 % shooting from the field and 33.2 % from three-point range. Winners of 9-of-12 since late November, the Golden Rams success from three-point range has been a major key to their success in the win column, particularly in recent weeks. Throughout the last six games, West Chester has shot north of 50.0 % from deep in four of those games, winning all four such games, including a win over No. 9 Cal, which saw the team connect from deep 16 times. The lone two exceptions to the team's stellar work from deep recently came at Lock Haven on January 6 and against East Stroudsburg on January 13 with both such instances resulting in losses for the Purple and Gold. As has been well documented throughout the year, the inside game continues to be essential for West Chester as well as the Golden Rams are 8-2 when outscoring their opponents in the paint, averaging 35.3 points per game in such games.
A win on Wednesday night would carry a bit of extra-special meaning for head coach
Damien Blair as it would not only be his first win in Heiges since the 2015-16 season (the same season in which the Golden Rams last knocked off a top-10 foe until a few weeks ago), but it would also tie him with longtime Millersville head coach Fred Thompson for 16th in PSAC history in career wins at 272.
On an individual level, Allen and Smith, who were both recognized in recent weeks for scoring 1000 career points, rank first and second on the team in scoring, averaging 18.9 and 15.9 points per game, respectively.
Jordan Kellier (Kingston, Jamaica/Redemption Christian) continues to hover around a double-double per game with his scoring and rebounding, averaging 11.9 points per game, which is fourth best on the team, while leading the team in rebounding, averaging 9.6 per game. The veteran forward, who joined the Golden Rams ahead of the 2023-24 season by way of Siena, ranks second in the PSAC and 18th in Division II in rebounding. Walker, an occasionally overlooked member of the Golden Rams starting five, has been integral in recent weeks, ranking third on the team in scoring, averaging 12.9 points per game after leading the team in scoring in each of the last two games, tying his career-high with 23 points against No. 16/13 ESU on January 13 before adding 18 points and 13 rebounds in the victory over Kutztown last week. Walker is also second on the team in rebounding, averaging 6.3 rebounds per game.
SCOUTING SHIPPENSBURG
Shippensburg enters play on Wednesday night looking for a way to halt a six-game losing streak, which saw the ever-dangerous Raiders drop from 5-5 midway through December to just 5-11 on the year. Most recently, Shippensburg became East Stroudsburg's latest victim as the Raiders traveled to ESU on Saturday and returned home with a 118-63 loss to show for their troubles. Shippensburg fell behind early on Saturday, trailing 56-34 at the half, and was unable to battle back in the second half, finding itself on the wrong end of a 62-29 second-half scoreline. Redshirt junior Ty Crespo led the team in scoring with 12 points while also leading the team in assists with five, but the Raiders were unable to overcome a lackluster 35.6 % effort from the field and a 54-31 loss in the rebounding battle along with a 17-10 deficit in turnovers.
For the year, Shippensburg averages 75.2 points per game on 41.3 % shooting from the field and 31.0 % from beyond the arc, while its opponents average 87.6 points per game, shooting 45.8 % from the field and 30.7 % from deep. The Raiders also enter play with a -8.7 (46.1-37.4) deficit in the rebounding battle and a -1.6 margin in the turnover battle. Markus Frank is the Raiders' leading scorer of the year, averaging 18.4 points per game while also ranking second on the team in rebounding, averaging 6.9 rebounds per game. Crespo is second on the team in scoring (11.8/g) and assists (2.3/g), while junior forward Kyle Whippen leads the team in rebounding, averaging 7.9 rebounds per game and 8.0 points per game, which is third best on the team.
UP NEXT:
West Chester returns to action on Saturday afternoon against Mansfield beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday will be the first of two at home for the Golden Rams as the team is back in action in front of the home crowd on Monday night against Millersville beginning at 7:30 p.m.
