EDINBORO, Pa.- Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover) scored a game-high 19 points, and
Dylan Blair (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) added 17 crucial points of his own to help lead the West Chester University men's basketball team (4-2, 2-0) to a thrilling 80-79 comeback victory over Edinboro (4-3, 1-1) on Saturday afternoon.
West Chester trailed for much of the game and found itself behind by as many as 12 in the first half and 10 in the second half but closed the game on a 29-20 run on 10-for-16 shooting from the field, led by 11 points from Blair to stretch its winning streak to four and remain unbeaten in league action to start the year.
Davante Dennis (Baltimore, Md./Red Lion) was the third and final Golden Ram in double figures with 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field.
West Chester shot a solid 55.2 % (32-of-58) from the field once again, after shooting 50.0 % in the first half and 60.0 % in the second half while also going 4-for-9 (44.4 %) from three-point range. The Golden Rams also went 12-for-15 (80.0 %) at the free-throw line.
The Golden Rams fell behind early in the first half, trailing 31-19 with under eight minutes to play until halftime. However, the visitors closed the half on a 15-4 run, led by five points from
Larenzo Jerkins (Chester, Pa./Neumann Goretti) and four from Blair, to trail by just one (35-34) at the halftime break.
West Chester shot an even 50.0 % (14-of-28) from the field in the first half, including a 1-for-4 effort from three-point range and an 83.3 % (5-for-6) effort at the free throw line. Edinboro shot 38.5 % (15-of-39) from the field, including a 5-for-16 (31.3 %) effort from deep in the first half, although the Fighting Scots did not go to the free throw line in the first 20 minutes of play.
West Chester scored the first four points of the second half after layups by Alen and
Joshua Walker (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist) to take a 38-35 lead a minute into the second half.
Edinboro answered with a 26-13 run of its own over the next seven minutes, led by 12 points from Michael Dunn. The Fighting Scots shot 80.0 % (8-of-10) from the field during the run to retake a 10-point lead (61-51) with 12 minutes to play.
West Chester had an answer again, going on a 16-5 run of its own, led by eight more points from Blair and six from Allen to take a 67-66 lead with 8:28 to play in regulation.
West Chester and Edinboro traded makes down the stretch as the Golden Rams led 75-72 with 1:49 to play after an
Anthony McCall (Philadelphia, Pa./ANC) dunk.
Dennis
stretched the lead to 77-72 with a jumper moments later, and West Chester never trailed again as the Golden Rams escaped with an 80-79 victory over the Fighting Scots.
All five Edinboro starters scored in double figures in the loss, led by 15 points from Michael Dunn and an 11-point, 17-rebound double-double by Ryan Ladjevich.
Edinboro shot 44.3 % (31-of-70) from the field and 41.2 % (14-of-34) from three-point range while also going 3-for-3 at the free throw line, with all three attempts coming in the second half.
West Chester was out rebounded 39-28, although the Golden Rams did win the turnover battle by a 13-9 margin, which resulted in a 17-12 advantage in points off turnovers.
West Chester also ended the game with a 22-13 lead in points off the bench and a 40-30 lead in points in the paint.
Up Next:
West Chester will be back in action on Wednesday afternoon at home against Chestnut Hill beginning at 2 p.m.
