WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Dylan Blair (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) scored a team-high 16 points to help lead the West Chester University men's basketball team (13-3, 9-1) to an 85-80 victory over Kutztown (4-10, 1-7) on Saturday afternoon in front of a strong Alumni Day crowd.
Blair finished with 10 assists to pick up a double-double as one of five Golden Rams in double figures.
Anthony Purnell Jr. (Chester, Pa./Kiski) scored 14 points along with five rebounds and four assists, while
Davante Dennis (Baltimore, Md./Red Lion) and
Anthony McCall (Philadelphia, Pa./ANC) finished with 11 points each along with 10 from
Joshua Walker (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist).
West Chester trailed by just one for 30 seconds after a late-second-half surge by Kutztown but erased the deficit quickly and never trailed again en route to the five-point victory after leading by as many as 13 midway through the first half.
West Chester jumped out to an early 7-0 lead and held a 12-8 advantage with 15:56 to play in the first half at the game's first media timeout.
The Golden Rams extended their lead to 20-10 moments later and held a 22-14 advantage with 11:05 to play in the opening half as the game hit the under-12 media timeout.
Using an 8-0 run midway through the half, Kutztown got back to within a point down the stretch, but the Golden Rams went to the halftime break holding a four-point (41-37) lead thanks to 11 points from Purnell Jr. along with five rebounds through the first 20 minutes.
West Chester shot 51.7 % (15-of-29) from the field, including a 4-for-10 (40.0 %) effort from deep, while also going 7-for-10 at the line.
Kutztown shot 50.0 % (13-of-26) from the field, including a 25.0 % (3-of-12) effort from deep, while also going 8-for-11 (72.7 %) from the charity stripe.
Jalen Bryant led Kutztown in scoring in the first half, finishing with 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting.
West Chester stretched its lead to 12 early in the second half, holding a 56-44 advantage with 15:41 to play.
Similarly to the first half, Kutztown did not allow its double-digit deficit to last long. The Golden Bears clawed back to within 10, cutting the deficit to as few as eight with under 12 minutes to play. Kutztown got the Golden Ram lead to four as the second half continued, but West Chester held a slim 69-65 lead with 7:47 to play.
Jordan Nkoa Abessolo gave Kutztown its first lead of the game with a fade-away jumper in the lane at 6:43, which made the score 70-69 in favor of the Golden Bears. West Chester erased the deficit on the next possession but soon found itself tied at 72-72 after another Nkoa Abessolo layup.
West Chester got its lead back to four (76-72) thanks to four quick points by Dennis en route to the 85-80 victory. After West Chester retook the lead at 74-72, the Golden Rams never trailed again in the five-point victory.
West Chester shot north of 50.0 % in the second half as well, ending the game shooting 52.6 % (30-of-57) from the field, including a 6-for-19 (31.6 %) from three-point range while also hitting 19-of-29 (65.5 %) at the line.
Kutztown shot 41.4 % (12-of-29) in the second half and ended the game shooting 45.5 % (25-of-55) from the field, including a 6-for-22 (27.3 %) effort from deep. The Golden Bears went to the line 33 times and connected on 24 of those attempts, ending the game shooting 72.7 %.
Jalen Bryant had a massive night, finishing with 38 points on 9-of-21 shooting while also going 15-for-17 at the line, while Jordan Nkoa Abessolo finished with 20 of his own on 8-of-10 shooting from the field and a 3-for-5 effort at the stripe.
Bryant's 38-point performance is the second-highest single-game scoring effort by any player in the PSAC this season, and it is the best effort by a player in Divisional play so far this season.
West Chester was outrebounded 37-32 in the setback, including an 11-6 deficit on the offensive glass. However, West Chester still ended the game with a 10-9 lead in second-chance points and a 42-38 lead in points in the paint.
West Chester won the turnover battle by five (19-14) and ended the game with a 24-9 lead in points off turnovers, while also finishing the game with a 32-13 lead in points off the bench led by 14 from Purnell Jr. and seven from
Alex Walinski (New Hope, Pa./New Hope-Solebury).
Up Next
West Chester will enjoy a well-deserved bye on Wednesday after completing its four-game in eight-day gauntlet with a record of 3-1 before facing Shippensburg on Saturday beginning at 3 p.m. in Hollinger.
