West Chester vs Mansfield
Game Details: February 8 I 1 P.M.
Location: Hollinger Field House (West Chester, Pa.)
Coverage Links: Live Stats I Video
Series: 60-34 (WCU 5-0)
WCU Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
Mansfield Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
Last Time Out
Wednesday night was far from pretty by any stretch of the imagination as neither team shot north of 30.0 % from the field (29.9 % WCU; 29.8 % Shepherd), but the Golden Rams held off the visiting Rams for a 57-49 victory. West Chester scored a season-low 21 points in the first half but led 21-16 at the break and, after outscoring Shepherd 36-33 in the second half, escaped with an eight-point victory over the Rams. Anthony Purnell Jr. was the lone Golden Ram in double figures in the win, finishing with 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field and a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw line.
Flock Talk
Elijah Allen has scored in double figures in 16 of his 21 games this year and led West Chester in scoring in 10 of those 16, including three of the last four, as the senior guard has helped WCU post a record of 8-2 in such games. Allen enters play on Wednesday night averaging 15.0 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 tied third on the team in scoring, averaging 10.4 points per game, while his 7.7 rebounds per game (including a 12-rebound effort vs Lock Haven last Saturday) 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 and 4.3 assists per game, which is sixth-best in the PSAC in the season’s final month.
West Chester enters play averaging 77.5 points per game on 42.4 % shooting from the field, including 31.5 % from beyond the arc. The Golden Rams also hold a 42.5-34.8 lead in rebounding, which remains seventh-best in Division II and second-best in the PSAC, including a 16.1 offensive rebound per game average, which is seventh best in the Nation.
Saturday is the final Saturday home game of the regular season for West Chester’s senior class of Allen, Walker, Osumanu, and Walinski. Since joining 2021-22, this quartet, which reached its current level of four in 2022-23 when Walker joined the Golden Rams, is 75-35 overall and 54-26 in PSAC action, which includes the 2022-23 season that saw the Golden Rams go 21-8 and 16-6 in league play, earning a share of their first PSAC East regular season crown since 2006.
Happening Pregame
Prior to Saturday afternoon’s game, West Chester will pause to recognize its senior class, which includes Elijah Allen, Joshua Walker, Moro Osumanu, and Alex Walinski, as today is Senior Day and the final Saturday home game for the Golden Rams.
Milestone Watch
Head coach Damien Blair enters Saturday just a win away from his 300th career victory as the head coach of the Golden Rams. When Blair reaches this milestone, he will become just the second WCU head men’s basketball coach to do so, joining his predecessor and his coach, Dick DeLaney, who ended his legendary career with a program record 370 wins.
Rank and File
West Chester debuted at 25th in the D2SIDA Media Poll released earlier this week, while the team continues to be the top vote-getter among teams receiving votes in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) poll.
Winning at Home
West Chester will also be looking to remain unbeaten at home this season, entering play a perfect 11-0 in Hollinger in the midst of a 15-game home winning streak, which is the best in the PSAC and tied for fourth-best in Division II men’s basketball.
Crash the Glass
WCU is seventh in Division II in rebounding, averaging 42.5 rebounds per game, thanks in part to 16.1 offensive rebounds per game, which is also seventh-best. West Chester is 11th in DII in rebounding margin and is first in the PSAC in rebounding margin (+7.8). West Chester ranks second in the PSAC in rebounding and offensive rebounding.
The Second Unit
West Chester's bench remains fourth in the PSAC in scoring, averaging 24.5 points per game through 22 games.
Made in the Paint
West Chester has outscored its opponents in the paint in 17-of-22 games. West Chester is unbeaten when finishing the game tied (IUP 34-34) or ahead of its foes in points in the paint.
The Golden Rams are 1-3 when being outscored in the paint (West Liberty 50-44, ESU 34-26, Millersville 46-20, Shepherd 26-22), with the win over Shepherd on Wednesday night being the team’s first win in four such games.
Series History
West Chester will look to run its winning streak against Mansfield to six in a row on Saturday when the Mounties roll into Hollinger for an unusual 1 p.m. Senior Day tip. With game times moved up to accommodate winter weather travel concerns for the visiting Mounties, West Chester will look to improve to 62-34 all-time vs Mansfield and hand head coach Damien Blair his 300th career win as the head coach of the Golden Rams. West Chester escaped Mansfield with a narrow two-point (80-78) victory earlier this season and has not lost to the Mounties in Hollinger since a February 2008 loss by a 60-57 final.
Scouting Mansfield
Mansfield (7-14, 4-11) enters play on Saturday looking to erase the memory of what some may consider a surprising 76-72 home loss at the hands of Bloomsburg on Wednesday night. Mansfield shot just 35.3 % from the field, including 34.6 % from beyond the arc, but hit a hot-shooting Bloomsburg team, which shot 47.6 % from the field and 45.5 % from deep to overcome a career-high 30-point and 15 rebounds double-double by Scott Woodring.
For the Year, Mansfield enters play averaging 71.1 points per game on 41.9 % shooting from the field and 30.7 % from beyond the arc while trailing in the rebounding (41.5-36.6) and turnover (19.0-16.0) battles for the year. Sterling Scott is first on the team in scoring, averaging 13.7 points per game, while Woodring is second, averaging 11.5 per game. Woodring continues to lead the team in rebounding, averaging 7.4 rebounds per game, while Ty Crespo is first on the team in assists, averaging 4.1 per game.
