West Chester vs Shippensburg
Game Details: January 18 I 3 p.m.
Location: Hollinger Field House (West Chester, Pa.)
Coverage Links: Live Stats I Video
Series: WCU leads 75-37 (WCU 3-2 in last five; W2)
WCU Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
SHIP Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
Last Time Out
Looking to erase the memory of a 77-68 loss at ESU on January 8, which was the team’s first loss in nearly two months, West Chester (13-3, 8-1) returned home on Saturday and vanquished Kutztown by an 85-80 final. West Chester led by 13 midway through the first half and led for over 38 minutes but found itself trailing by one late in the second half after a jumper with just under seven minutes to play. West Chester did not trail for long, regaining a four-point lead, and the Golden Rams never trailed again in the victory. Dylan Blair led West Chester with 16 points and 10 assists as WCU shot 52.6 % from the field and 31.6% from three-point range. West Chester also hit 19-of-29 (65.5 %) at the line and ended the game with a 19-14 lead in turnovers. This +5 lead in turnovers helped West Chester end the game with a 24-9 lead in points off turnovers and a 42-38 lead in points in the paint. West Chester’s bench ranks fourth in the league in scoring, averaging 23.4 points per game after scoring 32 points on Saturday, led by 14 from Anthony Purnell Jr. and seven more from Alex Walinski.
Flock Talk
After opening the New Year by playing four games in eight days, West Chester (3-1 in that stretch) had a well-deserved bye on Wednesday, giving the Golden Rams a chance to be well-rested entering play against the Raiders on Saturday afternoon. West Chester has been led by Elijah Allen, who averages 15.0 points and 1.9 assists per game. Joshua Walker has caught fire in recent weeks after missing time due to injury early in the season, averaging 11.4 points per game, which is second best on the team, while also leading the squad in rebounding, averaging 7.5 rebounds per game, including his 16-point effort at ESU on Wednesday night. Army-West Point transfer Dylan Blair has also seemed to find his footing in recent weeks as the sophomore guard now averages 10.9 points per game, which is third best on the team, along with 4.1 assists per game, which is first on the team and among the best in the PSAC. This 4.1 assist per game average includes Blair’s 10 helpers in the win over Kutztown on Saturday as the sophomore guard became the first Golden Ram since Anthony Purnell Jr. in January 2024 against Shepherd to record 10 or more assists in a single game. West Chester is second in the PSAC and ranks fifth in DII in rebounding, averaging 43.4 rebounds per game, including a 16.7 offensive-rebound per game average, which is fourth best in Division II men’s basketball entering the final two months of the 2024-25 regular season.
Chasing the Legend
Head coach Damien Blair is just seven wins away from his 300th win at WCU. When he reaches this milestone-he'll become the second WCU coach to do so, joining his coach and one of the two individuals the Hollinger Field House floor is named after-Dick DeLaney as the only men’s basketball coaches to do so. DeLaney ended his career with 370 wins.
Crash the Glass
WCU is fifth in Division II in rebounding, averaging 43.4 rebounds per game, thanks in part to a 16.7 offensive rebounds per game, which is fourth best. West Chester is also 12th in DII in rebounding margin and is first in the PSAC in rebounding margin (+8.8) while ranking second in rebounding, trailing only Gannon.
Made in the Paint
West Chester has outscored its opponents in the paint in 13 of 16 games this season, and the Golden Rams hold a 592 (37.0/g)-470 (29.4/g) advantage in this category. West Chester is unbeaten when outscoring or finishing the game tied with its foes in the paint (34-34 vs. IUP) but is 0-2 when being outscored (West Liberty 50-44; East Stroudsburg 34-26).
Give us a Second Chance
West Chester has outscored its opponents in second-chance points in every game but two this season, entering play with a 281 (17.6)-152 (9.5) lead through 16 games.
Series History
West Chester will look to run its winning streak against Shippensburg to three in a row and stretch its overall winning streak to two while also improving to 9-0 in Hollinger against Shippensburg on Saturday afternoon. West Chester swept the season series last year for the first time since the 2015-16 season, which was part of a three-game winning streak for the Golden Rams. Last season included a dominant 102-59 victory at home in late February, which improved West Chester to 75-37 all-time against the Raiders. This win went down as the Golden Rams largest win over Shippensburg since a 100-54 victory in 1972, and the Golden Rams largest PSAC East win since a 107-63 thrashing of Millersville during the 2017-18 season.
Scouting Shippensburg
Shippensburg (6-10, 4-6) enters play following a hard-fought overtime loss at the hands of East Stroudsburg at home on Wednesday night. Looking for an upset win, Shippensburg held a one-point (48-47) lead at the halftime break but mustered just 31 points in the second half and only eight in OT to suffer a 90-87 loss to ESU. One of the top scorers in the PSAC, Markus Frank, scored 33 points, while Denzel Figueroa grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Raiders in the setback. Shippensburg shot 51.5 % from the field, including a 38.5 % effort from deep, but was outrebounded 48-34 and committed 16 turnovers in the three-point loss.
As a team, Shippensburg averages 78.1 points per game on 47.4 % shooting from the field, including a 30.9 % effort from deep, while also shooting 69.3 % at the line. The Raiders hold a slim 38.6-38.2 lead in rebounding on the year, although they trail by just over three turnovers per game, committing an average of 14.5 per game while forcing just 11.2 per game. Individually, Frank leads the team in scoring, averaging 20.8 per game, while Donovan Hill is first in rebounding, averaging 10.4 per game. Freshman guard Jaydon Smith led the team in assists on Wednesday night with five and leads the group on the season, averaging 2.7 per game, while Hill is second, averaging 2.6 per game.
