WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Needing a win to improve its chances of capturing the PSAC East regular-season crown, the West Chester University men's basketball team (20-5, 15-3) earned a crucial 84-80 victory over East Stroudsburg (19-6, 13-5) on Wednesday night.
With its victory on Wednesday night, West Chester seized control of the PSAC East with three games to play, stretching its lead atop the East back to two games while also picking up a crucial split with the Warriors.
Wednesday night's game was another classic dual between the Golden Rams and Warriors, as the game featured 15 ties and five lead changes, and neither side led by more than 10 in a crucial PSAC East victory.
West Chester finished with four in double figures as
Joshua Walker (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist) and
Saleem Payne (Philadelphia, Pa./Phelps School) finished with 14 points each, while
Dylan Blair (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) scored 12 along with 11 from
Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover).
West Chester shot 39.7 % (27-of-68) from the field, including a 15.0 % (3-of-20) from three-point range, while also going 27-for-32 (84.4 %) at the free throw line.
Prior to Wednesday night's game, West Chester presented head coach
Damien Blair with a commemorative ball in honor of his 300
th career win over Mansfield on February 8.
At halftime of Wednesday night's game, West Chester's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) formally announced the granting of a Make-A-Wish in partnership with NCAA Division II and Make-A-Wish.
The first half was nothing if not a back-and-forth affair as West Chester jumped out to an early four-point lead after a 4-0 run but found itself ahead by just one (42-41) at the midway point.
The first half featured 13 ties and five lead changes as neither side led for more than six minutes through the first 20 minutes.
Payne led all scorers in the first half with 12 of his 14 points as West Chester shot 34.2 % (13-of-38) from the field and 15.4 % (2-for-13) from beyond the arc.
The Golden Rams also shot 87.5 % (14-of-16) at the line, while ESU shot 45.0 % (9-of-20) from the field and 41.7 % (5-of-12) from three-point range along with 18-of-23 (78.3 %) at the line.
West Chester never trailed in the second half, racing out to a 62-54 lead with 12:18 to play before an 8-0 Warriors run tied the game at 62-62 with 8:52 to play.
With East Stroudsburg threatening to grab control of the game with its 8-0 run, Blair hit a pull-up jumper and sparked a 6-0 Golden Ram run to take a 68-62 lead with 7:32 to play.
West Chester used a 10-7 run to take a commanding 78-69 lead with 4:08 to play before East Stroudsburg countered with another 9-1 run, led by six points from Cam Young, to make it a one-point (79-78) game with 1:23 to play.
West Chester got its lead to 82-80 with 22 seconds to play before
Anthony Purnell Jr. (Chester, Pa./Kiski) got a big turnover with under 10 seconds to play and knocked down a pair of free throws to lift West Chester to the 84-80 victory.
East Stroudsburg shot 45.0 % (18-of-40) from the field, including a 31.8 % (7-for-22) from three-point range, while also going 37-for-47 (78.7 %) from the free throw line.
Cam Young led ESU in scoring with a game-high 18 points, scoring 11 of those 18 points at the charity stripe.
West Chester ended the game with a 43-28 lead in rebounding, including a 20-5 lead on the offensive glass, which led to a 14-4 lead in second-chance points. West Chester also finished the game with a 44-14 lead in points in the paint and a 20-14 lead in turnovers, which led to a 25-16 lead in points off turnovers.
West Chester also ended the game with a 31-29 lead in points off the bench, led by 14 from Payne and nine from Purnell Jr.
Up Next:
West Chester will be back in action on Saturday afternoon at Bloomsburg beginning at 3 p.m.
