CALIFORNIA, Pa.-Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover) scored a career-high 34 points and the most points by a West Chester player in a single game since a 50-point performance by Robbie Heath in the 2019-20 season to help lead the West Chester University men's basketball team (8-4, 5-1) to a 100-97 victory over No. 9 California (Pa.) (11-1, 5-1) on Wednesday evening.
Tonight's victory marks the Golden Rams first win over a top-10 opponent since a November 2015 victory over IUP when the Crimson Hawks were ranked seventh in Division II men's basketball and is the second year in a row the Golden Rams have taken down a ranked team on the road after defeating No. 14/20 East Stroudsburg away from home a year ago.
Not to be missed in the excitement of the victory of unbeaten and ninth-ranked Cal, Robert Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) became the latest Golden Ram to record his 1000th career point, scoring 22 in the victory to help guide the Golden Rams past the Vulcans, who entered play ranked as the second-best offensive unit in the PSAC.
With this milestone, Smith became the first Golden Ram since the trio of Jackson Hyland, Malik Jackson, and Matt Penecale to score all 1,000 points in a West Chester uniform, with Penecale being the most recent of the three, reaching the milestone in February of the 2018-19 season during a 91-74 victory over Bloomsburg.
Allen and Smith were two of four Golden Rams in double figures in the victory as Jordan Kellier (Kingston, Jamaica/Redemption Christian) and Joshua Walker (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist) finished with 14 and 11, respectively. Kellier also corralled 11 rebounds, finishing with a double-double, while tying with Smith for the team lead in assists with five in the victory.
West Chester shot tremendously well again on Wednesday evening, ending the game with 53.7 % (36-of-67) from the field and 51.6 % (16-of-31) from three-point range, connecting on eight threes in both the first and second half of action. The Golden Rams also made the most of their trips to the line, particularly in the second half, ending the game shooting 66.7 % (12-of-18) from the stripe, including a 10-for-14 effort in the second half of action.
Cal, who entered play as one of the top offensive units in the PSAC both in terms of scoring and field goal percentage, did not disappoint, shooting 53.2 % (33-of-62) from the field and 46.2 % (12-of-26) from three-point range while also shooting 76.0 % (19-of-25) from the line in the loss. The PSAC's leading scorer, KJ McClurg, led the Vulcans in scoring with 26 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including a 4-for-8 effort from deep, while teammates Donald Whitehead Jr, Jermaine Hall Jr, and Zyan Collins added 20, 18, and 18, respectively. Collins also led the game in assists, finishing with six to lead all players in this category.
West Chester stayed within striking distance throughout the evening, never trailing by more than nine in a game that featured seven ties and 10 lead changes. The Golden Rams took control of the game with a 25-17 run midway through the second half, which saw the Purple and Gold erase an eight-point deficit and take an 87-85 lead thanks in part to 13 points from Smith and seven from Allen.
Cal jumped out to an early 14-8 lead just six-and-a-half minutes into regulation before a pair of made three's by Jordan Kellier (Kingston, Jamaica/Redemption Christian) and Mirko Bramati (Bologna, Italy/St. Thomas More) brought things back even at 14-14.
Allen helped West Chester retake a 17-16 lead with a made three of his own off an assist from Kellier, giving the visiting Golden Rams their third lead of the opening half. Three's continued to fall for both sides as the first half progressed as the two teams combined for 10 makes from three-point territory through the first 11 minutes of action as the Golden Rams held a slim 25-23 lead after Allen's third make of the first half.
West Chester continued to stay close with Cal throughout the remainder of the first half; trading makes with the Vulcans as neither side led by more than six throughout the opening 20 minutes. The game appeared as if it might head to the half tied at 40-40 until Donald Whitehead Jr. knocked down his second three of the afternoon at the buzzer to give the ninth-ranked Vulcans a 43-40 lead heading into the halftime break.
Allen led West Chester in scoring in the first half, finishing with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including a 4-for-5 effort from three-point range to go along with 12 points from Kellier as he connected on 5-of-9 attempts, while also corralling eight rebounds.
The two continued trading blows to open the second half as the Vulcans inched out to a 55-51 lead with 15:43 to play thanks to five early points from Whitehead Jr. A made three by Smith brought the score back to 55-55, but Cal answered with an 8-0 run to take a 63-55 lead.
West Chester remained well within striking distance down the stretch, cutting the deficit to three with 7:45 to play after a successful three-point play by Smith while also increasing his point total to 10 on the afternoon. Smith brought West Chester back to within one after another layup, making the score 73-72 in favor of the Vulcans. Jermaine Hall Jr. had an important answer down the other end of the floor for Cal, draining a three off an assist by Zyan Collins to extend the lead back to 76-72 before countering a make by Joshua Walker (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist) with another make off an assist from Collins to give the Vulcans a 78-74 advantage.
Allen countered quickly, draining a three in response, which cut the hosts lead back to one, making the score 78-77 in favor of the Vulcans with just over six minutes to play in regulation.
Smith continued his big second half with 5:15 to play, draining a pair of threes to help the Golden Rams tie things up at 83-83 while also moving within two points of his 1,000th career point with 4:45 to play. Smith reached this career milestone a few minutes later with a jumper with 3:58 to play that gave the Golden Rams an 87-85 lead over the Vulcans.
Allen helped West Chester extend its lead to 90-86 three moments later, connecting on yet another three while also setting a new career high for scoring in the process with 31 points on the afternoon. Hoping to avoid the upset, Cal stormed back with an 11-6 run, taking a 97-96 lead over the Golden Rams with 48 seconds to play, following a tip-in by Hall Jr.
Kellier answered quickly for West Chester, restoring the Golden Ram lead with a layup of his own just 12 seconds later, which sparked a 4-0 run to close out the 100-97 victory for the Golden Rams.
West Chester ended the game with a 36-34 lead in rebounding, including a narrow 12-11 lead on the offensive glass.
Up Next:
West Chester will not have long to revel in today's triumph as the Golden Rams open PSAC East play on Saturday afternoon at Lock Haven, with the opening tip set for 3 p.m.
