WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Anthony Purnell Jr. (Chester, Pa./Kiski) scored a game-high 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting to help lead the West Chester University men's basketball team (18-4, 13-2) to a 57-49 victory over Shepherd (14-8, 10-5) on Wednesday night.
West Chester extended its home winning streak to 15 in a row, which is now tied for the fourth-longest streak in Division II men's basketball. Tonight's win also helped WCU clinch a PSAC Tournament spot, becoming the first PSAC East team to punch its ticket to the PSAC Tournament with just under a month to play in the regular season.
Purnell Jr. was the lone Golden Ram in double figures as
Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover) and
Dylan Blair (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) finished with eight and seven points each. Blair also led the team in assists with three and rebounds with 11 in the victory.
Jarod Robinson was one of three Rams in double figures for Shepherd, finishing with 15 points on 3-of-8 shooting, with eight of those 15 coming at the free-throw line. Chase Paar turned in a double-double, finishing with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
West Chester took an early 4-2 lead and stretched it into a 12-4 advantage over a five-minute span, leading by eight with 11 minutes to play in the first half.
Shepherd countered with a 6-2 run, which cut the West Chester lead to 14-10 before continuing the run to get the WCU lead down to two (14-12).
This was as close as WCU allowed its guests to get in the first half, closing the defensive battle of a first half on a modest 7-4 run to carry a 21-16 lead into the halftime break.
Defense was the story of the first half as West Chester shot just 16.2 % (6-of-37) from the field, including a 1-for-11 (9.1 %) effort from deep, while Shepherd shot 18.2 % (4-of-22) from the field, including an 0-for-11 effort from three-point range.
West Chester also forced 16 Shepherd turnovers in the first half, turning these miscues into nine points.
West Chester outscored Shepherd 18-13 through the first eight minutes of the second half, staving off a Shepherd run, which saw the Rams pull back to within one (27-26) with 14:04 to play.
Leading 37-29 coming out of the under 12 media timeout, West Chester extended its lead to 47-40 with under four minutes to play as defense continued to be the story on Wednesday evening.
West Chester extended its lead to 55-45 with under 40 seconds to play and held on for a 57-49 victory over the Rams.
It wasn't always pretty on Wednesday night as both sides shot below 30.0 % on Wednesday as the Golden Rams shot 29.9 % (20-of-67), while Shepherd shot 29.8% (14-of-47) from the field in the loss. West Chester was just 3-of-18 (16.7 %) from three-point range, while Shepherd was 1-for-20 (5.0 %) from beyond the arc.
West Chester hit 93.3 % (14-of-15) from the free throw line, while the visiting Rams were 20-for-30 (66.7 %) from the stripe.
Shepherd ended the game with a 43-41 lead in rebounding, although West Chester finished with a 15-10 lead on the offensive glass, including a 9-8 lead in second-chance points. West Chester ended the game with a 22-13 lead in turnovers and a 20-9 lead in points off turnovers while also finishing the night with an 8-7 lead in points off the break.
West Chester's bench was a difference maker on Wednesday night as the Golden Rams, led by Purnell Jr.'s 17, finished the night with a 29-11 lead in points off the bench.
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action on Saturday at 1 p.m. vs Mansfield on Senior Day.
