WEST LIBERTY, W.V.- Davante Dennis (Baltimore, Md./Red Lion) scored 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field, including a perfect 3-for-3 effort from deep, but it was not enough to help the West Chester University men's basketball team (0-2) overcome a hot-shooting Wheeling (1-1) squad as the Golden Rams fell to the Cardinals by an 88-68 final on Saturday afternoon.
Dennis was one of two Golden Rams in double figures in the setback as fellow newcomer
James Johns Jr. (Claymont, Del./Long Island Lutheran) finished with 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting in 17 minutes of action.
Darrius Phillips (East Stroudsburg, Pa./Seton Hall Prep) led West Chester in rebounding with eight with four points, while
Saleem Payne (Philadelphia, Pa./Phelps School) led in assists again with three.
West Chester led early on Saturday afternoon, holding a narrow 9-7 lead with 16 minutes to play in the first half, but this was the team's final lead of the game as Wheeling erased the deficit quickly and carried a 49-23 lead into the halftime break.
For the second game in a row, West Chester nearly doubled its first half scoring in the second half, scoring 45 points on 34.8 % (15-of-43) shooting from the field and a 10-for-15 (66.6 %) effort at the charity stripe. This second-half performance, which included a late 9-0 run, was enough to allow West Chester to cut into the Wheeling lead, but the Golden Rams could not mount a true comeback after trailing by as many as 32 midway through the second half.
It bears noting that the last time West Chester opened its season with a pair of losses was during the 2018-19 season when the team also lost a pair of games at West Liberty, falling to West Virginia Wesleyan and West Liberty before finishing the season in the NCAA Tournament with a record of 22-9.
For Wheeling, Sean Ealy was excellent on Saturday afternoon, finishing with 25 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field, including a 2-for-4 effort from three-point range and a 7-for-8 effort at the line. Ealy was one of three Cardinals in double figures as S.J. Hutchinson finished with 13, while William Gabbert added 10 points of his own. Tee Harris narrowly missed a double-double as he scored eight points and corralled 12 rebounds in the victory.
Despite Harris's 12-rebound effort, West Chester ended the game with a 50-36 advantage in rebounding, which translated into a 22-7 lead in second-chance points and a 30-28 lead in points in the paint.
West Chester made progress on cleaning up its turnovers from Friday night on Saturday afternoon, committing 16 while forcing Wheeling to commit 13. Wheeling ended the game with a 19-10 lead in points off turnovers.
West Chester shot 31.2 % (24-of-77) from the field and 27.3 % (6-of-22) from three-point range, while also shooting just 66.7 % (14-of-21) from the line in the loss.
For the second time in as many games, West Chester saw its Mountain East foe shoot north of 50.0 % from the field as Wheeling shot 50.9 % (27-of-53) from the field, although the Cardinals shot just 29.2 % (7-of-24) from three-point range. Wheeling also shot 79.4 % (27-of-34) from the line in the victory.
Wheeling also ended the game with an 11-9 lead in fast break points and a 44-32 lead in points off the bench, led by 13 from Hutchinson.
Up Next:
West Chester will be back in action next Saturday evening at home against Wilmington beginning at 4 p.m. in its home opener.
