GREENSBURG, Pa.-Following an impressive road win over No. 25 IUP on Friday evening for its first road victory over the Crimson Hawks since 2015, the West Chester University men's basketball team (8-4, 2-3) was back in action on Saturday at Seton Hill (12-2, 6-0) as the Golden Rams looked to close out crossover play with a victory over the Griffins. West Chester found itself in an all too familiar position as the team trailed at the half, and a hot-shooting second half by Seton Hill was too much to overcome as the Golden Rams fell to the Griffins by a 97-83 final.
Following a career-high 30-point performance at IUP on Friday,
Ruben Rodriguez Jr. (Reading, Pa./Reading) continued his hot start to 2026 on Saturday, pouring in 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the field, including four makes from beyond the arc, along with six rebounds, but it was not enough to lift the visiting Golden Rams to victory. Rodriguez Jr. tied with Edir Ortiz of Seton Hill for the game lead in scoring as Ortiz finished with 25 points of his own on 9-of-10 shooting from the field, including a 2-for-3 effort from beyond the arc, while also going 5-for-8 at the line.
West Chester and Seton Hill traded makes throughout the early going, and West Chester held a narrow 22-17 lead with 10:15 to play after a quick 5-0 run led by a
Jaysean Williams (Bloomfield, Ct./The Patrick School) three and an
Anthony McCall (Philadelphia, Pa./ANC) layup.
Williams gave West Chester a 24-21 lead with another jumper with 9:13 to play, but Seton Hill responded with a 10-1 run to take a 31-25 lead with five minutes to play in the first half. The Griffins stretched their lead to eight (39-31) with 2:21 to play in the first half as the Griffins were shooting a blistering 68.2 % (15-of-22) through the first 15-and-a-half minutes of the first half. Seton Hill ended the first half shooting 68.0 % (17-of-26) from the field, including a 3-for-6 (50.0 %) effort from three-point range, which allowed the Griffins to carry a 45-35 lead into the halftime break.
Faced with a halftime deficit for the seventh time this season and the sixth game in a row, West Chester was unable to post its fifth comeback win of the season as the homestanding Griffins continued their hot shooting in the second half en route to 14-point victory.
Seton Hill stretched its lead to 57-43 in the first 5:40 of the second half before head coach
Damien Blair took a timeout.
Following the timeout, West Chester cut the lead to 10 with 6:47 to play when
Xavier Vann (Euclid, Ohio/Euclid) hit a three, but Seton Hill responded with a 7-0 run to take an 83-66 lead with under six minutes to play.
West Chester responded with an 8-1 run of its own, canceling out the Griffin run and cutting the deficit to 84-74 with 3:44 to play after a Rodriguez Jr. jumper for his 22
nd point of the afternoon.
Down by just 10 was as close as Seton Hill would allow the visiting Golden Rams to get as the Griffins, who led by as many as 17 with under six minutes to play after their 7-0 run held off West Chester for a 97-83 victory.
After shooting 40.6 % (13-of-32) from the field in the first half, West Chester shot an improved 51.3 % (20-of-39) to shoot 46.5 % (33-of-71) from the field, including a 10-for-30 (33.3 %) effort from beyond the arc, while also going 7-for-15 (46.7 %) from the line, including just 2-of-6 in the second half.
Rodriguez Jr. was one of two Golden Rams in double figures with his 25, as Williams added 16 of his own on 6-of-17 shooting, including four makes from three-point range and five assists.
Seton Hill shot 66.7 % (34-of-51) from the field for the game, including a 6-for-13 (46.2 %) effort from beyond the arc, while also going 23-for-35 (65.7 %) from the line.
Edir Ortiz led the Griffins in scoring with 25 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field, including a 2-for-3 effort from beyond the arc, while also going 5-for-8 at the line. Dimitrios Sklaventis added 21 of his own on 8-of-10 shooting from the field, while Kedrick Curtis poured in 16, along with 13 from Rashaad Williams and 11 from Gabe Gillespie.
Seton Hill ended the game with a 34-30 lead in rebounding, although West Chester finished the afternoon with a 17-10 lead in offensive rebounding, which translated into a 20-10 lead in second-chance points. West Chester also finished the game with a 22-17 lead in turnovers, although the Griffins finished the day with a 32-7 lead in points off the break and a 26-21 lead in points off turnovers, along with a 54-38 lead in points in the paint.
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action on Wednesday at Mansfield for its PSAC East opener beginning at 3 p.m.
