West Chester at Shippensburg
Game Details: February 12 I 5 P.M.
Location: Heiges Field House (Shippensburg, Pa.)
Coverage Links: Live Stats I Video
Series: WCU leads 76-37 (W3)
WCU Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
SHIP Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
Last Time Out
West Chester stretched its home winning streak to 16 in a row on Saturday afternoon with an 84-76 victory over Mansfield on Senior Day. Saturday’s game against Mansfield was a classic PSAC East battle throughout the afternoon, featuring 10 lead changes and eight ties, with neither side enjoying a run or led larger than eight points. Despite the multitude of lead changes, West Chester trailed for less than eight as the Golden Rams earned the eight-point home victory. Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover) was one of three Golden Rams in double figures with 24 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field. Joshua Walker (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist) scored 16 points, and Anthony McCall (Philadelphia, Pa./ANC) added 13 off the bench in the victory. West Chester shot north of 50.0 % from the field in the first half and shot an even 50.0 % (30-of-60) for the game, including a 36.8 % (7-for-19) effort three-point range, while also shooting 73.9 % (17-of-23) from the free throw line.
Flock Talk
After his 24 points against Mansfield on Saturday, Allen is first on the team in scoring, averaging 15.5 points per game. The senior guard has scored in double figures in 17-of-22 games and led the team in scoring in 11 of those 17 games, leading WCU to a 9-2 record in such games. Davante Dennis (Baltimore, Md./Red Lion) is second on the team in scoring, averaging 11.6 points per game, while Walker and Dylan Blair (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) are second and third in scoring, averaging 10.6 and 10.2 points per game. Walker, who led the team in rebounding with nine, leads the team in rebounding, averaging 7.5 per game, while Blair remains the team leader and sixth in the PSAC, averaging 4.4 rebounds per game.
As a team, West Chester enters play averaging 77.8 points per game on 42.7 % shooting from the field, including 31.7 % from three-point range, while also shooting 71.3 % from the free throw line. The Golden Rams hold a 42.4-35.0 rebound per game led along with a 15.7-14.1 lead in turnovers, thanks in part to a 9.3 steal per game average. West Chester’s opponents average 71.0 points per game on 41.2 % shooting from the field, including a 28.8 % effort from three-point territory.
Rank and File
West Chester appeared in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Top-25 poll for the first time since the 2019-20 season this week at 22nd in Division II men’s basketball. West Chester also debuted in the D2CSC Top-25 poll last week at 25th.
History Made
Saturday’s victory gave head coach Damien Blair his 300th career victory at the helm of the Golden Rams, making him just the second WCU head men’s basketball coach to eclipse 300 career wins.
Crash the Glass
West Chester remains seventh in the nation and second in the PSAC in rebounding and offensive rebounding, averaging 42.4 rebounds and 15.9 offensive rebounds per game. The Golden Rams also hold a +7.4 lead in rebounding margin, which leads the PSAC and ranks 12th best in Division II. Bridgeport leads the Nation in rebounding, averaging 44.3 per game, while Tampa leads in offensive rebounding, averaging 17.3 per game. Gannon leads the league in rebounding (42.8) and offensive rebounding (16.3).
Made in the Paint
West Chester has outscored its opponents in the paint in 17-of-23 games. West Chester remains unbeaten when finishing the game tied (twice) or ahead of its opponents in points in the paint. The Golden Rams are 1-3 when being outscored in the paint, earning their first such victory with a 57-49 victory over Shepherd last Wednesday night, which saw the team outscored in the paint by a 26-22 margin.
The Second Unit
West Chester remains fourth in the PSAC in points off the bench as the Golden Rams second unit averages 24.9 points per game. West Chester’s bench has outscored its foes in 15-of-23 games, including each of the last three.
Series History
West Chester will look to run its winning streak against Shippensburg to four in a row and stretch its overall winning streak to four while also improving to 8-3 away from home this season. West Chester swept the season series last year for the first time since the 2015-16 season, which was part of a three-game winning streak for the Golden Rams.
When West Chester and Shippensburg met earlier this season, West Chester trailed by seven midway through the first half after a 9-0 Shippensburg run but steadily worked its way back into the game and took a decisive 31-29 lead later in the half with a rim-rattling alley-oop by Davante Dennis (Baltimore, Md./Red Lion). After the dunk, West Chester carried a 46-40 lead into the halftime break after shooting 57.1 % (20-for-35) from the field in the first half before stretching its lead to as many as 21 late in the second half en route to a season-high 95-78 victory over Shippensburg. West Chester shot 54.3 % (19-of-35) from the field in the second half and went 8-for-10 at the line to finish the game shooting 55.7 % (39-of-70) from the field and 83.3 % (10-of-12) at the line. Dennis and Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover) scored a game-high 21 points, while Dylan Blair (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West), Joshua Walker (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist), and Anthony Purnell Jr. (Chester, Pa./Kiski) all finished in double figures with 13, 13, and 10, respectively. West Chester ended the game with a 45-22 lead in rebounding, including a 14-5 lead on the offensive glass, which resulted in an 18-10 lead in second-chance points and a 62-34 lead in points in the paint. Walker led the team in rebounding with 11, while Blair picked up a double-double of his own with 11 assists, which is the most by a Golden Ram in a single game since Kyle McGee in 2023 against East Stroudsburg. The Golden Rams dished out 33 assists on Saturday night, which is the most in a single game under head coach Damien Blair.
Scouting Shippensburg
Shippensburg (7-16, 4-12) enters play following an 83-75 setback against Lock Haven for its fourth loss in as many games. At home against LHU on Saturday, Shippensburg dropped the middle game of its three game homestand by eight, despite outscoring the Bald Eagles 47-43 in the second half. Shippensburg shot just 37.9 % (11-of-29) from the field in the first half, trailing 40-28 at the break before outscoring its guests by four in the second half on 45.0 % (18-of-40) shooting, including a 40.0 % (6-of-15) effort from three-point range. Jaydon Smith led the Raiders in scoring with 20 points, while Donovan Hill turned in a strong effort with a 17-point/14-rebound double-double along with six rebounds in the setback.
Shippensburg enters play averaging 78.8 points per game on 47.0 % shooting from the field and 30.8 % shooting from beyond the arc, while also hitting an average of 67.2 % at the free throw line. The Raiders hold a slight 38.5-38.3 lead in rebounding, although they trail opponents in turnovers 13.9-11.4, due in part to a 9.1 steal per game average by their opponents. Markus Frank remains third in the PSAC in scoring, averaging a team-high 20.0 points per game. Donovan Hill is second in scoring, averaging 12.3 points per game, while his 10.3 rebounds per game, which is third best in the PSAC. Hill is tied with Jaydon Smith for first on the team in assists, averaging 2.7 assists per game, while Frank leads the team in steals, averaging 1.4 steals per game.
