LOCK HAVEN, Pa.- The West Chester University men's basketball team (17-4, 12-2) avoided its first two-game losing streak since the first weekend of the season with a 75-56 victory over Lock Haven (10-10, 7-7) on Saturday afternoon.
Led by 17 points from
Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover) and 15 from
Davante Dennis (Baltimore, Md./Red Lion), West Chester bounced back from a loss at Millersville on Wednesday night with an impressive 75-56 victory over Lock Haven on Saturday afternoon.
Anthony McCall (Philadelphia, Pa./ANC) chipped in 12 points off the bench on 5-of-8 shooting to lead the Golden Rams second unit in scoring.
Joshua Walker (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist) led the team in rebounding with 12, while
Saleem Payne (Philadelphia, Pa./Phelps) finished with a game-high eight assists.
West Chester shot 48.6 % (17-of-35) from the field in the first half, including 5-for-11 (45.5 %) from three-point range to open up a 45-34 lead at the halftime break.
The Golden Rams hit harder times in the second half as the Lock Haven defense stiffened, holding West Chester to just 35.3 % (12-of-34) shooting from the field, including a 2-for-9 (22.2 %) effort from beyond the arc. West Chester still outscored its hosts 30-22 in the second half, leaving Thomas Field House with a 75-56 victory, which halted the Bald Eagles three-game winning streak.
For its part, Lock Haven shot below 40.0 % in both the first and second half, including a 9-for-30 (30.0 %) effort from the field in the second half (1-of-8 from three-point range) to finish the game shooting just 34.5 % (20-of-58) from the field, including a 31.6 % (6-of-19) effort from three-point range. Lock Haven also shot just 43.5 % (10-of-23) from the line in the 19-point loss.
West Chester ended the game shooting 42.0 % (29-of-69) from the field, including a 35.0 % (7-of-20) effort from three-point range, while also going 10-for-13 (76.9 %) at the line, including a 4-for-5 effort from the stripe in the second half.
West Chester trailed only briefly on Saturday afternoon, finding itself behind by seven with just over 16 minutes to play in the first half. However, it answered this early deficit with a 12-0 run and never trailed again, leading for over 34 minutes in the 19-point triumph.
West Chester ended the game with a 42-37 lead in rebounding, which helped lead to 10 second-chance points. West Chester also ended the game with a 38-28 lead in points in the paint and a 16-6 lead in points off the break, along with a 16-8 lead in points off turnovers after ending the game with a 15-10 lead in the turnover battle.
Eli Washington led Lock Haven in scoring with 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting, while Isaiah Stewart and Kevin Coleman finished with 12 and 10, respectively.
Up Next:
West Chester will be back in action on Wednesday night at home against Shepherd beginning at 5:30 p.m. The Golden Rams will remain home next Saturday to host Mansfield on Senior Day starting at 3 p.m.
