BLOOMSBURG, Pa.- The West Chester University men's basketball team (12-7, 9-4) will continue its busy schedule with a visit to Bloomsburg (4-15, 2-11) on Wednesday for its third game in five days beginning at 7:30 p.m. After starting its gauntlet with a win on Saturday over an always-tough Mansfield team, West Chester fell to rival Millersville on Monday night and will look to get back in the win column on Wednesday night before hosting first-place Lock Haven in the first game of the second half of PSAC East play on Saturday.
SERIES INFORMATION
Winners of each of the last five, West Chester, holds a 74-69 lead in the all-time series over Bloomsburg, including sweeps in the season series during each of the previous two years. West Chester has won three of four at Bloomsburg since the 2018-19 season, with the lone setback coming in 2019-20. Bloomsburg gave West Chester all it could handle in its home matchup against the Golden Rams last year, forcing West Chester to erase a 20-point deficit with under six minutes to play to capture a share of its first PSAC Regular Season crown since 2006.
FLOCK TALK
West Chester trailed for much of the game and throughout the second half, finding itself behind by as many as 17 with 12 minutes to play in regulation. This does not adequately tell the story of the game, however, as the Golden Rams battled all the way back, pulling back to within one multiple times in the final two minutes of regulation after going on a 21-10 run in the final five-and-a-half minutes of regulation. This second-half run was nearly enough to lead the Golden Rams to the comeback victory in a game that saw the purple and gold lead for just over a minute in the setback, but a solid free throw shooting effort down the stretch allowed the Marauders to escape with a three-point victory in a rare Monday night battle in Hollinger.
Joshua Walker (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist) led all scorers on Monday night with a career-high 26 points. He dominated in the post as all five starters scored in double figures in the setback.
Anthony Purnell Jr. (Chester, Pa./Kiski) led the team in assists with six and finished with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including a big three late in the second half, which helped West Chester close the gap down the stretch.
Jordan Kellier (Kingston, Jamaica/Redemption Christian) and
Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover) tied for third on the team in scoring with 14 points each, while Kellier picked up a double-double with 11 rebounds in the loss.
Kellier's double-double marked his eighth such effort on the year as the graduate student forward, who joined West Chester after stops at Division I Institutions Utah and Siena, leads the team and PSAC in rebounding, averaging 9.9 per game, which is also 14
th-best in DII. Walker has also been among the best forwards in the PSAC, averaging 19.4 points per game over the last five games, including a 23-point effort vs East Stroudsburg to go along with his 26 last night. These efforts have helped Walker remain third on the team in scoring and increase his season output to 13.8 points per game while also ranking second in rebounding, averaging 6.3 per game.
Allen and
Robert Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) continue to lead the team in scoring, averaging 18.4 and 16.7 points per game, while Purnell Jr. leads the team in assists, averaging 4.1 per game, which is seventh-best in the PSAC.
As a team, West Chester enters play averaging 80.7 points per game, which is fourth best in the PSAC, shooting 46.6 % from the field and 35.0 % from three-point range while also outrebounding opponents by an average of 5.6 per game (37.7-32.1), which leads the league. Since the start of PSAC East play, West Chester has been a dangerous team offensively, shooting north of 50.0 % from the field in four of six games, including a season-best 57.4 % from the field a night ago. The Golden Rams have also done remarkably well from three-point range during this stretch, including a 53.3 % effort against Shepherd on January 10 and an even 50.0 % against Kutztown on January 17.
West Chester continues to be among the best in the league at scoring in the paint, outscoring opponents in 13 games this season, playing to a record of 10-3 in such games. Outscoring opponents 499-332 on the year, West Chester holds a 38.4-24.1 point per game advantage in points in the paint.
SCOUTING BLOOMSBURG
Bloomsburg enters play following its third loss in a row after falling to first-place Lock Haven by an 80-68 final on Monday night. On Monday night at Lock Haven, Bloomsburg found itself down by 13 (41-28) at the half and, despite a valiant second-half comeback attempt, fell by 12 to drop to 4-15 on the year and 2-11 in league play. Bloomsburg shot 40.7 % from the field and 40.0 % from three-point range on Monday night and outscored its hosts in the second half, but it was not enough to overcome a slow start on Monday night, which saw the Huskies muster just 28 first-half points. Jake Nelson, who leads the team in scoring and rebounding, finished with a double-double, scoring 21 points and adding 11 rebounds, while Louie Wild contributed in his usual way with five assists in the loss.
As a team, Bloomsburg enters play averaging 74.2 points per game, shooting 45.8 % from the field and 34.3 % from three-point range while also connecting on 68.4 % of its attempts at the charity stripe. The Huskies have not had the chance to benefit from extra possessions very often this season, finding themselves outrebounded by a 38.7-34.0 margin on the season while also committing almost five more turnovers per game, averaging 16.6 per game.
Individually, Nelson leads the team in scoring, averaging 14.2 points per game and an average of 8.7 rebounds per game. Junior guard Matt Bengel is second on the team in scoring, averaging 12.0 points per game, while Wild is third on the squad in scoring, averaging 10.6 points per game, while also leading the team in assists, averaging 2.5 per game. Bengel leads the team in steals, averaging 1.8 per game, while also ranking third on the team in rebounding, averaging 3.0 per game.
UP NEXT:
West Chester returns to action on Saturday afternoon against Lock Haven beginning at 3 p.m.
