EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa.- The West Chester University men's basketball team (12-3, 7-1) took to the road on Wednesday night for a rivalry clash with East Stroudsburg (11-3, 5-2). West Chester erased a halftime deficit and held a lead midway through the second half but fell by a 77-68 final to halt a 12-game winning streak.
Tonight's setback is the Golden Rams' first loss since November 9, when West Chester lost to Wheeling on the second day of the MEC/PSAC Challenge for its second loss of the season.
Davante Dennis (Baltimore, Md./Red Lion) led West Chester in scoring with 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting while also coming away with five steals.
Joshua Walker (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist) and
Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover) also scored in double figures, finishing with 16 and 10 points each.
Anthony McCall (Philadelphia, Pa./ANC) led the team in rebounding with seven, while
Anthony Purnell Jr. (Chester, Pa./Kiski) led the team in assists with six.
Lakeem McAliley and Cam Young led ESU in scoring with 24 and 16 points, respectively. McAliley finished with a double-double, recording 11 rebounds in the triumph over the East-leading Golden Rams.
East Stroudsburg jumped out to an 11-4 lead but answered back with an 8-0 run, led by four points from Dennis to take a 12-11 lead with 13:14 to play.
East Stroudsburg countered with an 8-0 run of its own to take a 19-12 lead with 10:30 to play until halftime before West Chester answered with yet another run to pull back within one (22-21) with 7:50 to play after another made three by
Moro Osumanu (Reading, Pa./Reading) marking the second game in a row in which the senior forward knocked down a trifecta.
West Chester remained within striking distance for much of the remainder of the half but found itself down 38-31 late before an Allen three cut the Warrior lead to 38-34 heading into the halftime break.
Allen led the Golden Rams in scoring in the first half with nine points on 3-of-8 shooting, including his lone make from three-point land, while Osumanu and Dennis chipped in seven points each.
Playing their third game in five days, West Chester shot 44.4 % (12-of-27) from the field, including a 33.3 % (3-of-9) effort from three-point range, while also going 7-for-9 (77.8 %) at the stripe.
For East Stroudsburg, the Warriors were led by 14 points from Cam Young and 12 from Lakeem McAliley as the Warriors shot 38.7 % (12-for-31) from the field, including a 33.3 % (5-for-15) effort from three-point range. ESU also shot 90.0 % (9-for-10) at the free throw line.
Despite trailing by four at the midway point, West Chester ended the first half with a 22-14 lead in rebounding.
West Chester outscored its hosts 9-2 in the first three minutes of the second half to claim a 43-40 lead with 17 minutes to play. With 14:18 to play, West Chester stretched its lead to 47-42 before the Golden Rams made the lead 50-48. A Dennis three gave West Chester a 53-48 lead with 12:38 to play.
East Stroudsburg fought back to take a 54-53 lead with just under 10 minutes to play, but
Joshua Walker (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist) quickly restored a 55-54 lead with a driving layup.
East Stroudsburg scored five of the next seven points to take a 59-57 lead before stretching its advantage to 67-59 with four minutes to play. West Chester got the deficit down to 69-63 before East Stroudsburg restored a 73-63 lead with 1:17 to play. Dennis answered with a transition three to cut the deficit to seven, but this was as close as West Chester could get in the 77-68 loss.
West Chester shot 41.5 % (22-of-53) from the field, including a 7-for-22 (31.8 %) effort from three-point range, while also going 17-for-22 (77.3 %) at the free throw line.
ESU shot 39.7 % (25-of-63) from the field, including a 24.1 % (7-of-29) effort from deep, while also going 20-for-25 (80.0 %) at the line.
Despite the loss, West Chester ended the game with a 40-35 lead in rebounding, which led to a 16-10 advantage in second-chance points. West Chester also finished the game with a slim 18-17 lead in points off the break.
Up Next:
West Chester will be back in action on Saturday afternoon against Kutztown beginning at 4 p.m.
