West Chester at Lock Haven
Game Details: Saturday, February 1 I 3 P.M.
Location: Thomas Fieldhouse (Lock Haven, Pa.)
Coverage Links: Live Stats I Video I Tickets
Series: 35-12
WCU Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
LHU Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
Last Time Out
West Chester found itself behind early on Wednesday night, trailing 15-2 in the early stages. Despite cutting a 17-point halftime deficit to nine early in the second half, the Golden Rams could not come back in a 91-55 loss at Millersville. West Chester shot just 28.8 % (15-of-52) from the field, including a 14.3 % (2-of-14) effort from three-point range, led by 13 points from Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover) in a losing effort.
Flock Talk
West Chester enters play on Saturday afternoon, averaging 78.7 points per game on 43.1 % shooting from the field and 32.0 % shooting from three-point range while also connecting on 70.3 % (315-of-448) at the free throw line. The Golden Rams hold a 42.6-34.3 lead in rebounding over their opponents and a 15.6-14.3 lead in turnovers, led by a 9.3 steal per game average through 20 games.
Individually, Allen continues to lead West Chester in scoring, averaging 15.3 points per game through 19 games. The senior guard scored in double figures for the 14th time in 19 games this season and led West Chester in scoring for the ninth time in those 14 games as West Chester fell for just the second time this year when this situation has played out, falling to 7-2 in games in which he leads the team in scoring. Davante Dennis (Baltimore, Md./Red Lion) is second in scoring, averaging 11.9 points per game, while Dylan Blair (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) and Joshua Walker (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist) are third and fourth, averaging 10.9 and 10.8 per game, respectively. Walker, who corralled a team-high five rebounds last night continues to lead the team in rebounding, averaging 7.5 per game, while Blair leads the squad in assists, averaging 4.5 per game, which remains fourth best in the PSAC.
Chasing the Legend
Head coach Damien Blair looks to continue his march to 300 career wins this afternoon as he enters play just four wins away from becoming the second West Chester men’s basketball coach to accomplish this feat, with the lone other being legendary head coach Dick DeLaney, who the Hollinger Field House floor now bears the name of alongside legendary women’s basketball head coach Deirdre Kane.
Tale of Two Nights
After setting a new mark under head coach Damien Blair for the largest margin of victory over a PSAC East foe on Saturday with a 49-point drubbing of Bloomsburg, West Chester struggled to find its footing on Wednesday night, trailing by as many as 37 in the 36-point setback.
Crash the Glass
West Chester is seventh in Division II in rebounding, averaging 42.7 rebounds per game, thanks in part to 16.5 offensive rebounds per game, which is fourth-best. West Chester is also ninth in DII in rebounding margin and is first in the PSAC in rebounding margin (+8.4). West Chester ranks second in the PSAC in both rebounding and offensive rebounding, trailing only Gannon, who averages 43.1 and 16.6 per game, respectively.
The Second Unit
West Chester’s bench averages 24.2 points per game, including a 54-point outburst on Saturday in the win over Bloomsburg, which ranks fourth in the PSAC. East Stroudsburg leads the league in points off the bench, averaging 32.7 per game.
Made in the Paint
West Chester has outscored its opponents in the paint in 16 of 20 games this season, and the Golden Rams hold a 736 (38.7/g)-553 (29.1/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 0-3 when outscored (West Liberty 50-44; East Stroudsburg 34-26; Millersville 46-20).
Give it a Second Chance
West Chester has outscored its opponents in second-chance points in every game but three this season, entering play with a 343 (17.2)-187 (9.4) lead through 20 games.
Series History
After halting its longest losing streak to Lock Haven since at least 2001 with a win in early January, West Chester holds a 35-12 lead in the all-time series.
Last Time They Met
When the two teams met in early January, West Chester stretched its winning streak to 12 in a row with an 85-76 victory over Lock Haven in Hollinger. West Chester led for all but one minute and 28 seconds on Monday night and led by as many as 20 midway through the second half but still needed a late-game stand and a five-point run by Anthony McCall (Philadelphia, Pa./ANC) to earn its 12th win in a row by the 85-76 final. West Chester carried a 42-35 lead into the halftime break after storming out to an early 21-7 lead and wound up outscoring its guests 43-41 in the second half, ending the game shooting 45.3 % (29-of-64) from the field, including a 7-for-21 (33.3 %) effort from beyond the arc. West Chester also went 20-for-31 (64.5 %) at the free-throw line. McCall had a career night in the victory, finishing with 21 points as the first of four Golden Rams in double figures, while Joshua Walker (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist) chipped in 13, along with 10 each from Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover) and Dylan Blair (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West). Allen also led the team in rebounding with 10 in the victory for what was his first double-double of the season.
Eli Washington led Lock Haven in scoring with 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting as one of three Bald Eagles in double figures on a night, which saw the visitors shoot just 44.6 % (25-of-56) from the field, including 37.0 % (10-of-27) from beyond the arc. The Bald Eagles did leave 11 points at the free throw line in the 85-76 setback as the team went just 16-for-27 (59.3 %) from the stripe.
Scouting Lock Haven
Lock Haven (10-9, 7-6) enters play on Saturday riding a three-game winning streak and looking to improve to an impressive 8-1 inside Thomas Fieldhouse after a 103-96 win at Bloomsburg on Wednesday night. Lock Haven’s lone home loss of the season came on December 21 when the team fell to No. 17 Gannon by an 89-84 final and since then the Bald Eagles have posted home victories over Kutztown, East Stroudsburg, Shippensburg and Millersville.
On Wednesday night at Bloomsburg, Lock Haven needed triple overtime to survive the upset minded Huskies, marking the second time in three games that the Bald Eagles have needed OT to escape with a win. The three-game winning streak for Lock Haven has been nothing if not exciting for the Bald Eagles as the team downed Shippensburg in double OT to start the streak, toppled Millersville in the closing seconds of regulation last weekend, and outlasted Bloombusrg in triple OT after seeing the Huskies erase a 12-point halftime deficit in the second half on Wednesday night. Lock Haven jumped out to a 47-35 lead at the break but mustered just 25 points in the second half on 42.3 % shooting (11-of-26) from the field before finally pulling away in OT with a 14-7 third overtime effort. For the game, Lock Haven shot 50.7 % (35-of-69) from the field, including an 11-for-21 (52.4 %) effort from deep, while also going 22-for-31 (71.0 %) at the free throw line. Kevin Coleman led LHU in scoring with 28 points on 14-of-20 shooting along with 12 rebounds as one of five Bald Eagles in double figures. Isaiah Stewart also scored over 20 points, finishing with 24 points, including a team-best four made threes and an eight-for-eight effort at the line.
For the year, Lock Haven is averaging 77.5 points per game on 45.1 % shooting from the field and 30.0 % shooting from three-point range, while also shooting 70.7 % at the free throw line. LHU also trails 37.9-37.2 on the glass and 15.9-14.4 in the turnover battle as opponents average 10.5 steals per game. Stewart leads the team in scoring, averaging 14.2 points per game, while Eli Washington is second, averaging 13.7 per game. Coleman, who is third on the team in scoring, averaging 12.2 points per game, is first in rebounding, averaging 7.9 per game, while Washington leads the team in assists, averaging 4.8 per game.
