WEST CHESTER, Pa.- After winning its first outright Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division regular season crown since 2006, the West Chester University men's basketball team (23-6) fell to fourth-seeded Millersville (19-11) in the PSAC Quarterfinals on Wednesday night by an 85-71 final after being outscored 53-36 in the second half.
Chaos reigned across the PSAC on Wednesday evening as two-seed East Stroudsburg also lost to Shepherd by a 79-67 final, which gave the third-seeded Rams hosting rights for the PSAC Final Four this coming weekend.
Tonight's setback halts an 18-game home winning streak, which started following a 78-77 narrow home loss to Lock Haven on February 3, 2024.
In a game that featured 10 lead changes and seven ties, West Chester led for 24 of the 40 minutes and trailed for less than 11 but it was a late-game surge by the Marauders, coupled with stifling defense over the final 10 minutes, which helped fourth-seeded Millersville complete an 85-71 upset victory over the Golden Rams.
Millersville shot a blistering 60 % (15-of-25) from the field, including an outstanding 8-of-9 (88.9 %) from three-point range, to erase a nine-point deficit midway through the second half and lead by as many as 14 in the waning seconds of regulation.
Jahme Ested scored a game-high 28 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including three makes from deep, while Aiden Gair finished with 18 points, all of which came in the second half on 6-of-14 shooting, including five makes from three-point range. Gair, who was 0-for-5 from the field in the first half, including an 0-for-4 effort from deep, found his stroke in the second half, leading the comeback effort on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and a 5-for-6 effort from three-point territory.
Dylan Blair (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) scored a team-high 16 points in the loss, while
Joshua Walker (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist) and Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover) finished with 12 points each. Allen also led the team in assists with four, while Walker, Allen, and
Anthony Purnell Jr. (Chester, Pa./Kiski) tied for the team lead in rebounding with seven rebounds each.
West Chester shot 35.9 % (23-of-64) from the field in the PSAC-Tournament ending loss, including a 5-for-20 (25.0 %) from three-point range, while also going 20-for-28 (71.4 %) from the line.
Drew Stover scored eight points in the first five minutes to help Millersville take an early 12-8 lead, which was its largest lead of the first half. West Chester countered with a 7-0 run, sparked by a
Moro Osumanu (Reading, Pa./Reading) three to grab a slim 15-12 lead with 11:44 remaining in the first half.
The lead changed hands three times in the first and was tied four times, but the Golden Rams managed to sneak out to a 30-22 lead with 4:28 to play after a Blair three.
West Chester carried a 35-32 lead into the halftime break with two players in double figures as Blair and
Anthony McCall (Philadelphia, Pa./ANC) each had seven first-half points.
West Chester shot 34.4 % (11-of-32) from the field, including 18.2 % (2-of-11) from three-point range, while going 11-for-13 (84.6 %) from the free throw line in the first 20 minutes.
Stover led all scorers in the first half with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting as the Marauders shot 44.8 % (13-of-29) from the field, despite going just 1-for-6 (16.7 %) from beyond the arc. The visitors were also 5-for-8 (62.5 %) from the free-throw line.
In the second half, West Chester stretched its lead to eight early and led by nine with 15:27 to play after a three-point play by
Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover). Millersville began its comeback bid from this point, methodically erasing the West Chester lead and taking a 68-64 lead with under five minutes to play after an Aiden Gair three.
Millersville closed the game on a 17-7 run, led by nine points from Jahme Ested and six from Gair, shooting 60.0 % (3-of-5) from the field, including two makes from three-point range, while also going 9-for-10 (90.0 %) at the free throw line to close out the 85-71 victory.
Following an almost similar script to the script that the Golden Rams employed to win the regular-season crown last week, Millersville's defense stiffened when the Marauders needed it most, holding West Chester to just 10 points on 3-of-14 shooting over the final nine minutes, outscoring the Golden Rams 25-10 down the stretch to pull the upset victory and return to the PSAC Semifinals.
Millersville shot 51.9 % (28-of-54) from the field, including 9-for-15 (60.0 %) from three-point range, while also going 20-for-30 (66.7 %) from the charity stripe in the comeback victory.
Millersville ended the game with a 40-36 lead in rebounding, including a 34-24 lead on the defensive glass, although West Chester still found a way to end the game with an 11-9 lead in second-chance points.
West Chester also ended the game with a 10-14 lead in turnovers, a 14-10 lead in points off turnovers, and an 11-9 lead in points off the fast break.
The Marauders did end the game with a 38-28 lead in points in the paint, marking the third time this season that the Marauders outscored West Chester in points in the paint, making Millersville the only team to accomplish this feat this season.
West Chester also ended the game with a 23-11 lead in points off the bench, led by seven points each from Purnell Jr. and
Saleem Payne (Philadelphia, Pa./Phelps School).
The Marauders will head to Shepherd this weekend to take on the California (Pa.) Vulcans, while West Chester will join East Stroudsburg in waiting to see if its name will be called when the Division II Men's Basketball selection show airs on NCAA.com on Sunday at 11 p.m.
