WEST CHESTER, Pa.-Winners of five in a row, the West Chester University men's basketball team (5-1) will look to keep its strong run of play going as the Golden Rams open PSAC Crossover play against Pitt-Johnstown (5-2) on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m.
West Chester vs Pitt-Johnstown
Game Details: December 6 I 3 P.M.
Location: Hollinger Field House (West Chester, Pa.)
Series: 9-7
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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 won its fifth game in a row on Tuesday night with a dominant 95-52 victory over Lincoln, led by a season-high 26 points from
Anthony McCall on a perfect 10-for-10 shooting from the field. McCall's perfect night from the floor helped West Chester shoot 59.4% from the field, which was the Golden Rams' best shooting effort since February 2022. West Chester never trailed in the victory and led by as many as 50 with under four minutes to play in a dominant 43-point win over the visiting Lions. West Chester also ended the game with a 42-25 rebounding advantage and a 17-10 turnover margin, which led to a 28-5 advantage in points off turnovers and a 25-8 advantage in second-chance points.
Flock Talk
As a team, West Chester enters play averaging 92.7 points per game on 49.4 % shooting from the field, including a 31.3 % effort from beyond the arc, while also shooting 67.5 % at the free throw line. The Golden Rams rank 18th in Division II men's basketball in scoring, while ranking 13th in rebounding (44.5) and seventh in both offensive rebounds (17.3) and rebounding margin (+13.5). The Golden Rams are also eighth in turnovers, forcing opponents to average 20.3 turnovers per game. West Chester averages 15.3 turnovers per game of its own and has a +5.0 turnover margin, thanks in part to an average of 11.5 steals per game. Following his sensational 26-point effort on Tuesday night, McCall leads the team in scoring, averaging 14.7 points per game, and is also first in rebounding, averaging 6.3 rebounds per game.
Dylan Blair is first on the team in assists, averaging 5.0 per game, and also leads the team in steals, averaging 1.7 per game.
Power Surge
Saturday's game is the third and final game of a three-game homestand for West Chester, as the team has won its first two games of the homestand by a combined 112 points after a 69-point win over Immaculata and a 43-point win, which West Chester led by as many as 50 in over Lincoln on Tuesday night.
Preseason Prognostications
In the preseason coaches poll released by the league office in mid-October, West Chester was picked as the preseason favorite to repeat as PSAC East Champions, while UPJ was picked to finish seventh after going 11-16 overall and 7-13 in league play last season under veteran head coach Bob Rukavina, who is among the longest tenured coaches in the PSAC.
Superlative Central
West Chester is outscoring opponents in the paint (300-168), in second-chance points (110-65), and in points off turnovers (155-94) through the first five games of the season. The Golden Rams are also 10
th in Division II in offensive rebounds per game, averaging 17.3, 12
th in rebounding margin (+13.5), 13
th in rebounding (44.5), and eighth in turnovers forced (20.3).
Home Sweet Home
The Golden Rams have been one of the best teams in the Nation at home in recent years, going 63-15 (.807) at home since 2019-20, including an unbeaten regular season last winter. West Chester has not lost a regular-season home game since February 3, 2024, when the team fell to Lock Haven by a 78-77 final.
In Crossover Play
West Chester is also 41-15 in Crossover games since 2014-15 and went unbeaten for the first time since 2019-20 in such games last season.
Series History
West Chester will look to improve to 10-7 all-time against Pitt-Johnstown as the Mountain Cats pay their first visit to Hollinger since December 2021, when the Golden Rams fell by a 78-70 final for the first of a two-game losing streak. West Chester halted its losing streak to Pitt-Johnstown on December 17 last season in Johnstown with a 71-57 victory over the Mountain Cats. This game was part of a scheduling oddity that led to it counting as a league game for Pitt-Johnstown but as a non-league game for West Chester due to Mercyhurst's sudden exit from the league.
Scouting UPJ
Pitt-Johnstown enters the weekend on a winning streak of its own as the Mountain Cats have won three in a row, including a 92-75 win over Point Park, a 92-71 win over Davis & Elkins, and a 99-57 win over Penn State-Greater Allegheny. In the win over PSU-GA on Tuesday night, UPJ jumped out to a 49-18 lead at the half and outscored its visitors 50-39 in the second half on 60.0 % (21-of-35) shooting in both halves to emerge victorious. UPJ connected on 10 three's in the win, including six in the second half (6-for-15) as four players scored in double figures, led by 12 off the bench from Nick Watts. Baden Forup, who earned PSAC West Athlete of the Week honors on Monday, led the starting five in scoring with 10 points on 5-for-5 shooting in 11 minutes along with six rebounds.
UPJ enters the weekend averaging 85.6 points per game on 52.3 % shooting from the field and a 35.6 % effort from beyond the arc, along with a 69.7 % effort at the free throw line. The Mountain Cats also hold a 40.7-33.6 lead in rebounding. Individually, Forup leads the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 15.9 points and 9.0 rebounds per game, while Cedric Rault is first in assists and steals, averaging 4.7 assists and 2.4 steals per game.
Up Next
West Chester will not return to action again until a December 16 visit to Jefferson for its non-league finale and final road game of 2025. After this 6 p.m. tip, West Chester will return home on December 20 and 21 to host Gannon and Clarion its final games of 2025.
