West Chester vs East Stroudsburg
Game Details: February 19 I 7:30 P.M.
Location: Hollinger Field House (West Chester, Pa.)
Coverage Links: Live Stats I Video
Series: 92-81 (L4)
WCU Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
ESU Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
Last Time Out
West Chester dropped its first game as a nationally-ranked team since 2019-20 on Wednesday night, falling victim to a hot-shooting Shippensburg team that shot a stellar 60.6 % from the field in the first half to take a 50-38 lead into the halftime break en route to an 85-81 victory. West Chester outscored its hosts 43-35 in the second half and got back to within three but could not come back in the loss. Anthony Purnell Jr. scored a team and season-high 19 points on 6-of-14 shooting, but that was not enough to avoid the road upset. WCU shot 36.3 % from the field and 44.1 % from deep, with 15 makes in the setback.
Flock Talk
Elijah Allen has scored in double figures in 18 of his 23 games this year and led West Chester in scoring in 11 of those 18, including four of the last six, as the senior guard has helped WCU post a record of 9-2 in such games. Allen enters play on Wednesday night averaging 15.4 points per game, which remains the best on the team, while his 1.9 assists per game are third best on the squad. Josh Walker is fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 10.3 points per game, while his 7.4 rebounds per game is first on the team. Dylan Blair continues to rank in the top five on the team in scoring, averaging 10.4 points per game as well as 4.3 assists per game, which is sixth-best in the PSAC in the season’s final weeks. West Chester enters play averaging 77.9 points per game on 42.4 % shooting from the field, including 32.6 % from beyond the arc.
What Wednesday Night Means
West Chester has seen its lead atop the PSAC East shrink to just one game over East Stroudsburg. With a win, WCU will be back in the drivers seat for the PSAC East, while a loss would move ESU into first and require a Warrior loss in one of its final three games (at Mansfield, vs Kutztown, vs Lock Haven) for WCU to have a shot at the top seed in the PSAC Tournament. Following the PSAC Quarterfinals, the top remaining PSAC East team will have the right to host PSAC Championship weekend on March 8 and 9.
Crash the Glass
WCU is seventh in Division II in rebounding, averaging 42.5 rebounds per game, thanks in part to a 16.3 offensive rebounds per game, which is sixth-best. West Chester is 11th in DII in rebounding margin and is first in the PSAC in rebounding margin (+7.4). West Chester ranks second in the PSAC in rebounding & offensive rebounding.
Made in the Paint
West Chester has outscored its opponents in the paint in 17-of-24 games. West Chester is unbeaten when finishing the game tied (IUP 34-34, Mansfield 34-34) or ahead of its foes in points in the paint.
WCU is 1-4 when being outscored in the paint (West Liberty 50-44, ESU 34-26, Millersville 46-20, Shepherd 22-26, Shippensburg 40-22) with its lone win coming vs Shepherd on February 5.
Good to be Home
West Chester will also be looking to remain unbeaten at home this season, entering play a perfect 12-0 in Hollinger this season in the midst of a 16-game home winning streak, which is the best in the PSAC and tied for fourth-best in Division II men’s basketball.
The Second Unit
West Chester's bench remains fourth in the PSAC in scoring, averaging 25.3 points per game through 24 games. The WCU bench has outscored the opposing bench in 16 of 24 games this season, including a 42-31 advantage over No. 8 West Liberty in the season opener.
Celebrating History
Prior to tonight’s game, West Chester will honor head coach Damien Blair for his 300th career win as the head coach of the Golden Rams. Blair reached this milestone with an 84-76 victory over Mansfield last Saturday.
Thank You!
Wednesday night is also the Golden Rams annual Corporate Partner Appreciation night as the Department welcomes its Corporate Partners to Hollinger to thank them for their continued support of WCU Athletics.
My Wish
At halftime of Wednesday night’s game, West Chester will also have the chance to grant a Wish for a child and their family in partnership with Division II and Make-A-Wish.
Series History
West Chester holds a 92-81 lead in the all-time series against ESU despite going just 1-4 in the all-time series, including four straight setbacks after a 2023 regular-season sweep, which marked the first time since 2009 that WCU completed a regular-season sweep of the Warriors. West Chester’s 106-98 victory over ESU in Hollinger in February 2023 is the team’s last win and last home win over the Warriors and is also believed to be the most the Golden Rams have ever scored against ESU. The Golden Rams fell to ESU earlier this season by a 77-68 final thanks in part to a big run midway through the second half, which halted WCU’s 12-game winning streak.
Last Time They Met
West Chester suffered its first loss in nearly two months at ESU in early January as the Golden Rams fell victim to a late-game East Stroudsburg run in a 77-68 setback in Koehler Field House. West Chester trailed by four at the half but opened the second half on a 10-0 run to jump out to a six-point lead. The Golden Rams maintained an advantage for much of the second half, but East Stroudsburg rallied and escaped late, walking away with a nine-point victory after leading by 11 with under 30 seconds to play. Davante Dennis had a great night for West Chester, scoring a career-high 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting, including five makes from three-point territory, as he was one of three Golden Rams in double figures. Dennis was one of three Golden Rams in double figures, and Joshua Walker and Elijah Allen scored 16 and 10 points, respectively. West Chester shot 40.7 % (22-of-54) in the loss, including a 30.4 % (7-of-23) effort from beyond the arc, while also hitting 77.3 % (17-of-22) at the free throw line.
Scouting ESU
East Stroudsburg (19-5, 13-4) enters play on a six-game winning streak after a 91-74 victory over Shippensburg at home on Saturday afternoon. ESU jumped out to a 47-31 lead at the half and used this advantage to coast to the 17-point road victory. Lakeem McAliley scored 30 points, and ESU shot 53.2 % from the field, including nine makes from three-point range to improve to 19-5 on the year and remain a game back of WCU in the league standings.
For the year, ESU enters play averaging 86.5 points per game on 46.2 % shooting from the field, including 34.4 % from three-point range. The Warriors hold a 37.3-33.8 lead in rebounding and a 19-5.15.0 lead in turnovers entering play on Wednesday night. McAliley leads the team in scoring, averaging 19.3 points per game, while his 5.2 rebounds per game are second-best on the squad, trailing only Jalen Pichardo, who averages 6.7 per game. Evan Morton is second on the team in scoring, averaging 13.1 points per game, while also leading in assists, averaging 3.1 helpers per game.
