Box Score WILMINGTON, Del.- Led by a career-high 22 points from
Ruben Rodriguez Jr. (Reading, Pa./Reading), the West Chester University men's basketball team (3-1) held off a late-game comeback bid by Goldey Beacom (3-1) to earn an 88-84 road victory over the Lightning on Friday afternoon.
West Chester led by as many as 16 early in the second half before the Lightning put together a tremendous 15-minute run to cut the Golden Ram lead to just one, outscoring West Chester 43-30 to make it an 82-81 game with under a minute to play. West Chester iced the game at the free-throw line, escaping the Joseph West Jones Center with an 88-84 victory on Friday afternoon.
Rodriguez Jr. was one of four Golden Rams in double figures as
Nix Varano (Chalfont, Pa./La Salle College HS) scored a career-high 15 on 5-of-11 shooting, while
Anthony McCall (Philadelphia, Pa./ANC) and Gabe Moss (Pottstown, Pa./The Hill School) scored 17 and 18, respectively. McCall also corralled eight rebounds in the victory.
West Chester shot 47.5 % (29-of-610 from the field, including a 7-for-20 (35.0 %) from three-point range, while also going 23-for-34 (67.6 %) at the free throw line.
The two teams traded baskets early before a
Larenzo Jenkins (Chester, Pa./Neumann Goretti) gave the Golden Rams an 11-9 lead with just under 14 minutes to play in the first half.
Goldey- Beacom surged out to a 24-19 lead with 8:29 to play in the opening half after a 6-0 run, but West Chester, led by back-to-back
Anthony McCall (Philadelphia, Pa./ANC) layups, tied the score at 24-24 with seven minutes to play.
McCall's layup with 7:14 to play was the first basket of a 25-11 Golden Ram run to close the half, which saw the team shoot 8-for-12 from the field, including a four-for-four effort from three-point range to take a 47-35 lead into the half.
Ruben Rodriguez Jr. (Reading, Pa./Reading) scored the final points of the half with a three with 24 seconds to play for his 10th point of the first half and team-leading seventh of the late run.
Dylan Blair (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) opened the second half scoring with a made three as the Golden Rams started quickly to stretch their lead to as many as 16 (54-38) with 17:38 to play.
Seemingly disinterested in suffering their first loss of the season, the Lightning roared back and cut the deficit to three (71-68) with a 3-19 run on 10-of-17 shooting, led by 11 points from Tre Powell and seven from Emarquis Jones.
Gabe Moss (Pottstown, Pa./The Hill School) knocked down a pair of free throws, as did Rodriguez Jr., which stretched the lead back to 75-68 with 6:30 to play. Another 7-0 West Chester run, led by five points from Moss, gave West Chester an 82-72 lead with 4:30 to play before the hosts responded with another 5-0 run to cut the lead to 82-77.
The Julian Williams free throws, which cut the lead to 82-77, came with 3:38 to play and were the final points for either side until Williams hit a layup off a missed jumper out of a timeout with 1:39 to play, which trimmed the lead to 82-79. Powell continued the comeback bid, cutting the West Chester lead to one with another layup, which led to a timeout by the Golden Rams with 45 seconds to play.
Out of the timeout and looking for its first points since a Moss dunk with 4:30 to play, West Chester got back to the line as McCall was fouled in the lane with 35 seconds to play. McCall knocked down both free throws, extending the lead back to 84-81.
A late three by Jones was off the mark, and Rodriguez Jr. grabbed the rebound and was sent back to the line with six seconds to play. Rodriguez Jr. hit both free throws for a career-high 22 points to eventually lift West Chester to an 88-81 road victory.
Powell led Goldey Beacom in scoring with 23 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field, along with a 10-for-12 effort at the free throw line, as one of two Lightning players in double figures.
Goldey Beacom shot 48.2 % (27-of-56) from the field, including a 6-for-25 (24.0 %) effort from beyond the arc, while also going 24-for-34 (70.6 %) at the line.
West Chester ended the game with a 41-27 lead in rebounding, although the Lightning finished the game with a slim 17-15 lead in second-chance points.
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action on Wednesday afternoon against Division III Immaculata in Hollinger Field House beginning at 3 p.m.
