West Chester at East Stroudsburg
Game Details: January 8 I 7:30 P.M.
Location: Koehler Field House (East Stroudsburg, Pa.)
Coverage Links: Live Stats I Video
Series: 92-80 (L3)
WCU Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
ESU Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
Last Time Out
West Chester stretched its winning streak to 12 in a row on Monday night 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 his first double-double of the season.
Flock Talk
Boasting the fourth-ranked defense in the league, holding opponents to just 71.2 points per game, thanks in part to a league-best 29.2 % three-point shooting percentage against, West Chester is preparing for yet another Eastern Division test on Wednesday as the Golden Rams visit East Stroudsburg for their game since January 3. Offensively, West Chester averages 77.8 points per game on 41.9 % shooting from the field, including a 30.7 % effort from three-point range, while also hitting 70.1 % of its free throws, despite a pair of sub-65 % efforts in the last two games. West Chester also holds a 44.4-34.4 lead in rebounding and a 15.1-13.9 lead in turnovers, which has led to an average of 17.0 points per game off turnovers.
Individually, the trio of Allen, Walker, and Blair continue to lead the Golden Rams offensively, averaging 16.1,11.2, and 10.8 points per game, respectively, after all three scored in double figures once again last night. Walker remains first on the team in rebounding, averaging 7.6 rebounds per game, while Blair continues to lead the squad in assists, averaging 4.0 per game. Anthony Purnell Jr. (Chester, Pa./Kiski) dished out a team-high seven assists last night and is now second on the team on the year, averaging 2.4 per game. Blair is also tied with Davante Dennis (Baltimore, Md./Red Lion) for first on the team in steals, averaging 1.5 per game.
Crashing the Glass
West Chester is second in Division II in rebounding, averaging 44.4 rebounds per game, thanks in part to a DII-best 17.7 offensive rebounds. West Chester is also 10th in DII in rebounding margin and is first in the PSAC in rebounding margin (+9.9) while continuing to lead the league in rebounding.
Going Streaking!
West Chester has won 12 in a row after dropping its first two games of the year. This winning streak is the longest streak since the team rattled off 13 in a row to open the 2019-20 season. It's the longest mid-season streak since the team won 15 in a row from a Dec. 2018 win over Seton Hill until a Feb. 2019 loss to ESU in 2018-19.
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 252 (18.0)-133 (9.5) lead through 14 games.
Chasing the Legend
Head coach Damien Blair is just eight wins away from his 300th win at WCU. When he reaches this milestone, he will become the second WCU coach to do so, joining his coach and one of the two individuals the Hollinger Field House floor (Kane-DeLaney Court) is named after Dick DeLaney as the only West Chester men’s basketball coaches to do so. DeLaney ended his Golden Ram career with 370 wins.
Inside the Rivalry
West Chester holds a slim 92-80 lead in the all-time series over ESU despite going just 2-3 in the last five meetings, including three straight losses. West Chester swept East Stroudsburg during the 2023 regular season, marking the first time since 2009 that WCU completed a regular-season sweep of the Warriors before falling in the PSAC Quarterfinals, which sparked the current three-game skid. West Chester’s victory over ESU in Koehler in January 2023 was the Golden Rams first road win over the Warriors since an 88-87 victory during the 2019 season.
Scouting ESU
East Stroudsburg enters play looking for its second win in a row after opening 2025 with an 85-75 victory over Shepherd on Monday evening. This win helped the Warriors (10-3, 4-2) avoid a losing streak as ESU had gone to the Holiday Break reeling from an unexpected 83-81 OT loss at home against Slippery Rock back on December 21.
Against Shepherd, ESU trailed by three (35-33) at the half but outscored its guests 52-39 in the second half, including a 23-8 run early in the half to seize control of the game. Shepherd got the Warrior lead down to one on two separate occasions in the second half, but ESU never relinquished its advance and eventually got out to an 11-point lead with 3:28 to play en route to the 10-point victory. Lakeem McAliley led all scorers with 24 points (8-of-11 FG, 3-of-4 3PT, 5-of-6 FT) in 18 minutes as he surpassed the 1,700-point mark for his career, becoming just the fourth Warrior. ESU shot 43.1 % from the field and 34.5 % from three-point range while also shooting 70.4 % at the line and being outrebounded by a 38-33 margin. Despite all this, East Stroudsburg ended the game with a 19-7 lead in turnovers and a corresponding 21-10 lead in points off turnovers.
Averaging 86.9 points per game, East Stroudsburg is once again one of the top offensive units in the PSAC. ESU shoots 45.6 % from the field and 34.6 % from three-point range to rank second in the league and first in the East in scoring. Unfortunately for ESU, the Warriors also rank defensively near the bottom of the league, allowing an average of 79.2 points per game on 47.7 % shooting, including 34.0 % from deep, which is 10th in the league.
Individually, McAliley once again ranks among the league leaders in scoring, averaging 20.6 points per game, while Cam Young is second, averaging 12.5 per game through 13 games. Jalen Pichardo is first on the team in rebounding, averaging 6.2 per game, while Nasir Griffin is second, averaging 5.6 per game. Davon Lee and Cam Young rank first and second on the team in assists, averaging 3.7 and 2.6 per game, while Young also leads the team and ranks among the league leaders in steals, averaging 3.1 per game.
