Full Press Conference
WEST LIBERTY, W.Va.- Playing in its first NCAA Tournament since 2019, the sixth-seeded West Chester University men's basketball team (23-7) was back in action on Saturday afternoon vs third-seeded Virginia State (22-8). Taking on the CIAA Tournament Champion Trojans on a neutral court for the first time in program history, West Chester trailed by 13 at the half and, despite a valiant second-half comeback, fell by an 80-64 final.
Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover) scored a game-high 25 points, with 16 of his 25 coming in the second half as he was 6-for-8 from the field, including 2-for-4 from deep in the ill-fated comeback bid. Allen finished his career with 1,594 points as a Golden Ram in 107 games, which ranks eighth in program history. Allen scored in double figures for the 24
th time in 29 games this season and led the Golden Rams in scoring for the 14
th time in those 24 games.
Joshua Walker (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist) led West Chester and tied with Dajour Rucker for the game-lead in rebounding with eight.
Allen was the lone Golden Ram in double figures in the setback as West Chester shot just 37.3 % (22-of-59) from the field, including a 6-for-25 (24.0 %) from three-point range, while also going 14-for-22 (63.6 %) from the line.
West Chester mounted a valiant second-half comeback effort, which saw the Golden Rams trail by just six near the midway point of the half but could not come all the way back after shooting just 25.0 % (7-of-28) from the field in the opening 20 minutes.
"I didn't think we played to our level," head coach
Damien Blair said when asked about the season-ending setback. "All the things we did well throughout the season, like taking care of the ball, knocking down good shots, and being physical on the boards, Virginia State made difficult today, so it was hard to get into a flow. Playing a team as talented as VSU, you have to do those little things like making free throws, rebounding, taking care of the ball, and we didn't do a great job with that today."
The start of the game was tremendously low scoring as the two teams were locked at 8-8 before
Moro Osumanu (Reading, Pa./Reading) hit a three with 10:28 to play until halftime to give West Chester an 11-8 lead.
Virginia State hit a three of its own just 13 seconds later to tie the game at 11-11 and outscored West Chester 23-10 down the stretch of the first half to hold a 13-point (34-21) lead at the midway point.
Out of the halftime break, West Chester began a comeback bid, which saw the Golden Rams cut the deficit to 52-46 with 13:03 to play after a fast break layup by
Anthony McCall (Philadelphia, Pa./ANC) capped a 7-0 run and a 25-18 surge that got the Purple and Gold back to within six.
When asked about the run that saw the Golden Rams cut the deficit to just six, Blair said, "We started slow but once we started to see the ball go in and we were able to get some steals and easy fast break baskets that brought our energy up a few levels and made us play that much harder. Unfortunately, we didn't play as hard as we probably needed for a full 40 minutes to beat a talented team like Virginia State."
Allen scored 11 of the Golden Rams' 25 points during this run, while
Anthony Purnell Jr. (Chester, Pa./Kiski) scored five points, including a big three during the 7-0 run to help spur the comeback.
Virginia State answered with an 11-point run, which saw the third-seeded Trojans restore a 63-46 lead with 11:16 to play after a perfect 2-for-2 trip to the line by Jared White for two more of his team-best 20 points on the afternoon.
West Chester shot a much improved 48.4 % (15-of-31) from the field in the second half, including four makes from three-point range, but the Golden Rams could not overcome the Trojans' 11-0 run in the 80-64 setback.
When asked about today's loss bringing the 2024-25 season to its conclusion, Walker said, "We went through a lot to get to where we are now, including that slow start down here back in November. I'm proud of this group and love all those guys in the locker room for everything we accomplished this year. Losing certainly hurts, but it's important that we use it as motivation to get ready and be even better next year."
Virginia State shot 41.5 % (22-of-53) from the field, including a 9-for-18 (50.0 %) effort from three-point range, while also shooting 81.8 % (27-of-33) from the line.
White was one of four Virginia State players in double figures with 20 points off the bench on 5-of-10 shooting, including four makes from three-point range. Jacob Cooper and Clint Wright Jr. led the Trojans starting five in scoring with 12 points each, while Kendall Bynum added 10 points of his own, with half of those points coming at the free-throw line.
West Chester and Virginia State ended the game tied in rebounding with 33 rebounds each, although Virginia State finished the game with an 11-2 lead in second-chance points, while points in the paint were tied at 20-20.
"It was a great team effort," said senior guard
Elijah Allen when asked about the game. "It wasn't the result we were looking for, but we fought until the final buzzer, playing for our alums, fans, and everyone else back home in West Chester. It's a great opportunity to play in the Tournament, and I think we did a good job of showing who we were and playing West Chester basketball."
VSU also ended the game with a 19-16 lead in turnovers and a 21-14 lead in points turnovers, while West Chester finished its season-ending setback with a 25-11 lead in points off the break.
"I have to take a minute for our senior class," said head coach
Damien Blair. "They have been great all season at sticking by our core values of working hard, being accountable, professional, and unselfish, and they brought those characteristics every day. I talk a lot about how our players need to be Everyday Rams in how they work, and this group showed that to help us get to that point. Allen, Walker, Osumanu, and
Alex Walinski (New Hope, Pa./New Hope Solebury) are a huge part of this program and did a great job in establishing a really strong foundation with two Division titles in their careers and our first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019. Now it's on the returning players to step it up a notch and help us get back to this point and even further next year."
Today's loss brings the 2024-25 season to its conclusion as West Chester made its first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2018-19 season and matched its single-season win record of 23 for the second time under head coach
Damien Blair with the first such occurrence being the 2015-16 season when the Golden Rams finished the year at 23-7.
