SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.V.- Robert Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) had a career night, finishing with a career-high 29 points on 9-of-18 shooting, including 6-of-11 from three-point range to help the West Chester University men's basketball team (14-8, 12-4) escape West Virginia with an 86-82 victory over Shepherd (9-12, 6-10).
After winning both meetings against Shepherd last year in buzzer-beating fashion, it became clear as the second half marched toward its conclusion that it would either take another buzzer-beater or overtime to earn a victory in this matchup. The Golden Rams led for much of the game, but a late run by Shepherd evened things up with under 20 seconds to play. Smith had the chance to win the game for West Chester in the waning seconds, but a stellar defensive effort by Shepherd knocked the ball loose to force overtime.
Smith gave West Chester a lead early in the extra frame with a perfect 2-for-2 trip to the line, and the Golden Rams would never trail en route to the four-point road triumph.
Smith was one of three Golden Rams in double figures as
Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover) scored 22 points on 7-of-18 shooting, while PSAC East Defensive Player of the Week
Jordan Kellier (Kingston, Jamaica/Redemption Christian) recorded his sixth double-double in a row with 15 points and 12 rebounds in the victory.
West Chester and Shepherd traded points throughout much of the first half as the Golden Rams held a slim 21-18 lead with just under 11 minutes to play until halftime. Back-to-back makes from three-point range by Allen, and Smith helped West Chester stretch its lead to 27-18. These makes came as part of a 15-5 run for the Golden Rams, which saw the visitors take a 34-23 lead with six minutes to play until halftime.
Shepherd answered back with a mini-run of its own, trimming the West Chester lead to 34-27 before a three-point play by
Myles Grey (Reading, Pa./Reading) stretched the lead back to 37-27. Shepherd responded quickly with an 11-0 run, which erased the Golden Ram lead and gave the hosts a 38-37 lead in the waning seconds of the first half. Allen drew a foul on the Golden Rams last possession of the first half and hit both to give the Golden Rams a 39-38 lead heading into the halftime break.
Smith led West Chester in scoring at the half, scoring 13 points through the first 20 minutes, while Allen chipped in 11 of his own, including seven during the 15-5 run earlier in the first half.
Out of the break, West Chester and Shepherd continued to trade makes as the Golden Rams held a slim 46-45 lead with 15:36 to play in regulation. From this point, West Chester got on an 8-3 run to take a 54-48 lead with 11 minutes to play after a layup by Allen for two of his five points in the run.
West Chester stretched its lead back to 59-51 but the Rams continued to battle, cutting the Golden Ram lead to 59-55 heading into the under-eight media timeout. Smith hit a clutch three in response, extending the WCU lead back to 62-55.
Shepherd continued battling and cut the Golden Ram lead to 64-60 before a transition layup by Daniel McClain Corley made it a two-point game with three minutes to play. After a foul on Allen, Phillip Jordan hit both ends of a 1-and-1 to tie things up at 64-64.
Kellier restored a lead for West Chester and halted a nearly three-minute scoreless streak with a corner three to give the visitors a 67-64 lead. Shepherd continued to battle, evening the score at 68-68 with just over a minute to play. Purnell Jr. gave West Chester the lead back with just over 40 seconds to play with a perfect 2-for-2 trip to the line, making the score 70-68.
McClain-Corley tried a three in transition that would've given Shepherd the lead, but his shot was off the mark. Shepherd got the rebound and eventually got to the line as Jordan drew a blocking foul on a driving layup. Jordan hit both of his free throws, tying things up at 70-70 with under 20 seconds to play in regulation.
Following a timeout with 19.1 seconds left on the clock, West Chester had the ball with the chance to win on a buzzer-beater for the third time in the last four meetings against the Rams. Smith attempted to drive the lane as the final seconds ticked away, but Shepherd was able to knock the ball free, forcing overtime to decide a victor.
Smith gave West Chester the first lead of overtime with a perfect trip to the line, and West Chester would never trail, eventually earning the victory.
The Golden Ram's four-point victory was not without some drama in OT as while the Golden Rams never trailed; Shepherd did manage to hit a pair of threes in the final 15 seconds to make it a one-possession game late, adding a bit of pressure to Smith's last trip to the line of the evening. Smith hit both his free throws in the closing seconds, which put the game out of reach and lifted West Chester to the 86-82 victory.
Jordan led Shepherd in scoring with 24 points on 6-of-17 shooting from the field, including a team-best 3-for-10 effort from three-point range. Jordan was one of four players in double figures in the setback, as Marcus Banks finished with 16, while McClain Corley had 17 to go along with 14 from Carson Poffenberger. Banks nearly finished with a double-double as he also corralled nine rebounds in the setback.
West Chester shot 44.4 % (28-of-63) from the field and hit 60.0 % (9-of-15) from three-point range while also shooting 84.0 % (21-of-25) from the line in the road victory. The Golden Rams were 4-of-6 from the field and an impressive 8-of-10 at the line in OT to overcome the upset-minded Rams.
For its part, Shepherd shot 41.0 % (25-of-61) from the field and 31.0 % (9-of-29) from three-point range while also converting 92.0 % (23-of-25) at the charity stripe in an attempt to stun the Golden Rams.
Led by Kellier's 14 rebounds, West Chester ended the game with a 46-28 lead in rebounding, including a 17-9 lead on the offensive glass, which led to 10 second-chance points. West Chester also ended the game with a 6-2 lead in points off the bench as
Isaiah-Thomas McClain (Cheltenham, Pa./Cheltenham) scored a season-high six points in the victory.
Up Next:
West Chester will continue its road trip on Saturday afternoon with a visit to No. 11/7 East Stroudsburg beginning at 3 p.m.
