WEST CHESTER, Pa.- The West Chester University men's basketball (1-1) is finishing its preparations for its home opener on Wednesday night against CACC foe Caldwell (0-2), beginning at 7 p.m. in Hollinger Field House.
West Chester vs Caldwell
Game Details: November 19 I 7 P.M.
Location: Hollinger Field House (West Chester, Pa.)
Series: 1-0
Coverage Links: Live Stats I
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WCU Links: NEWS I
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Caldwell Links: NEWS I
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Fan Information
Similar to West Chester football games, West Chester basketball games will be cashless events this season. Ticket prices remain the same at $10 for general admission adult tickets and $5 for students (K-12) and seniors (+65), with WCU students with a current, valid ID admitted free of charge. Fans are strongly encouraged to purchase tickets online prior to arriving at Hollinger via this
link.
Last Time Out
West Chester opened its season last weekend in Maryland at the CIAA/PSAC Crossover Challenge against Fayetteville State and Bowie State. On opening night against Fayetteville State, West Chester led by as many as 11 and by four at the half but fell victim to a late-game run by the Broncos, dropping its opener by an 83-80 final. On Saturday, West Chester found itself locked in a tight game with Bowie State as the lead changed hands 13 times and there were seven ties, but West Chester erased a two-point halftime deficit for a 76-73 victory over the Bulldogs.
Dinari Boykin (Baltimore, Md./Archbishop Curley) led West Chester in scoring in the opener with 17 points, while
Gabe Moss (Pottstown, Pa./The Hill School) led the way on Saturday with a career-high 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting.
Flock Talk
West Chester enters play on Wednesday night averaging 78 points per game on 44.4 % shooting from the field, including a 28.9 % effort from deep and a 61.0 % effort at the free throw line. Moss leads West Chester in scoring, averaging 16.5 points per game, while
Ruben Rodriguez Jr. (Reading, Pa./Reading) is close behind, averaging 12.0 points per game, with
Dylan Blair (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West), averaging 10.5 points per game.
Anthony McCall (Philadelphia, Pa./ANC) leads the team in rebounding, averaging 8.5 rebounds per game, followed by Rodriguez Jr., who averaged 6.5 per game, along with a team-best 5.0 assists per contest.
Home Sweet Home
West Chester is 60-15 at home since the start of the 2019-20 season and was 14-1 in Hollinger last year, with the first and only loss coming against Millersville in the PSAC Quarterfinals.
In Home Openers…
West Chester is 10-1 in its last 11 home openers, including a 92-78 victory over Wilmington last year. The lone loss during this stretch was a 2023 setback against Fairmont State (74-68).
Early Respect
After tying the program record for wins in a single season and winning the first regular-season title since 2006, the West Chester University men's basketball team received early respect as the preseason favorite to repeat as Eastern Division Champions.
Sticky Fingers
West Chester is 22nd in Division II in turnovers forced, as the Golden Rams' opponents average 19 turnovers per game after the first weekend of play.
Series History
West Chester will meet Caldwell for the second year in a row and the second time in program history for its home opener on Wednesday afternoon, following an 80-76 win in the first known meeting between the two teams at Caldwell in December. West Chester was a perfect 4-0 against CACC opponents a year ago.
Scouting Caldwell
Caldwell enters play on Wednesday night in search of its first win of the season after falling to Southern New Hampshire (91-83) and Bentley (84-71) at home last weekend in the CACC/NE10 Conference Challenge. Against Bentley, the Falcons jumped out to a nine-point lead at the half on 56.7 % (17-of-30) shooting from the field, including eight made three's, and rode this advantage to the 13-point victory. Melvin Evans led the Cougars in scoring with 19 points along with a team-high seven rebounds, while Isaiah Philbert scored 14 points as the lone other Cougar in double figures. Caldwell shot 35.0 % (21-of-6) from the field, including an 8-for-21 (38.1 %) effort from three-point range, while also going 21-for-29 (72.4 %) from the free throw line in the loss.
For the year, Caldwell is averaging 77.0 points per game on 39.5 % shooting from the field and 38.1 % from beyond the arc, while also shooting 69.0 % from the free throw line. Evans leads the team in most major categories, including scoring (23.5/g), rebounding (6.5/g), assists (4.0/g), and steals (2.0/g). Tee Rochelle is second in scoring, averaging 14.0 points per game along with 5.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.5 steals per game.
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action on Friday afternoon at Goldey Beacom beginning at 3 p.m.
