WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Winners of a season-best seven in a row and eight of nine to open 2026, the West Chester University men's basketball team (15-4, 9-3) will look to run its winning streak to eight on Saturday when Mansfield (2-17, 1-12) visits Hollinger Field House for a 3 p.m. start as game two of a doubleheader between the Golden Rams and Mountaineers in West Chester.
West Chester vs Mansfield
Game Details: January 31 I 3 P.M.
Location: Hollinger Field House (West Chester, Pa.)
Series: 62-34
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Happening at Halftime
At halftime of Saturday's game, West Chester will honor its PSAC Champion Men's Golf Team, which hoisted their sixth PSAC Championship trophy and first since 2018 in October. Saturday's ceremony is the first of two Winter "Walk of Champions" celebrations as West Chester will celebrate its Atlantic Regional Champion women's soccer team on Monday night against Millersville.
Last Time Out
West Chester matched its season-long winning streak on Thursday night with an 85-82 victory over East Stroudsburg, as the Golden Rams have now won seven in a row, dating back to a 113-75 win over Mansfield to open PSAC East play.
Ruben Rodriguez Jr. and
Jaysean Williams tied for the team lead in scoring with 19 points each as West Chester erased a halftime deficit for the fifth time this season to post a crucial three-point road victory. West Chester shot 47.5 % (28-of-59) from the field in the victory, including a 55.6 % effort in the second half, while shooting 8-for-17 from three-point land in the win, including a 6-for-10 effort from deep in the second half. West Chester also turned in one of its best free-throw shooting efforts of the year in a win, shooting 87.5 % (21-of-24) from the stripe, including a 10-for-11(90.9 %) from the line in the second half.
Flock Talk
West Chester enters play on Saturday averaging 87.6 points per game on 48.6 % shooting from the field and 34.1 % shooting from beyond the arc, including a 70.1 % effort at the free throw line. One of the top rebounding teams in Division II, West Chester enters play with a 40.5-30.4 lead in rebounding, including an average of 16.3 offensive rebounds per game, which is second best in Division II. West Chester holds a 330-187 lead in second-chance points, along with an 834-612 lead in points in the paint, entering the final month of the season. West Chester's opponents enter play averaging 74.5 points per game on 45.3 % shooting from the field and 30.8 % shooting from three-point range.
Individually, West Chester is led by
Ruben Rodriguez Jr., who is averaging 16.0 points per game and 17.7 points per game since the start of 2026, including his 19-point outing on Thursday and his career-high 30 points on the road at IUP. Rodriguez Jr. also leads the team in rebounding, averaging 7.0 rebounds per game, and is second in assists, averaging 4.1 per game, along with a team-best 1.9 steals per game.
Anthony McCall is second in scoring and rebounding, averaging 13.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, while
Dylan Blair is first in assists, averaging 4.5 helpers per game.
Comeback Kids
West Chester is 5-3 this season when trailing at the half, including a comeback victory at Indiana (Pa.) on January 2 and a road win over ESU on Thursday night.
Superlative Central
West Chester is outscoring opponents in the paint (834-612), in second-chance points (330-187), and in points off turnovers (407-315) through the first 19 games of the season.
Second Chances
The Golden Rams are second in Division II in offensive rebounds per game, averaging 16.3, third in rebounding margin (+10.1), 14th in rebounding (41.3), and ninth in turnovers forced (18.2).
The Second Unit
West Chester's bench is outscoring opponents 591-462 so far this season, averaging 31.0 points per game, which is third-best in the PSAC and 30th-best nationally. The Golden Ram bench has outscored the opposing bench 13 times in 19 games this season.
Sharp Shooters
West Chester is 7-1 when shooting north of 50 % from the field and has shot north of 55 % from the field twice in its last four games.
Home Sweet Home
Despite a pair of home losses to conclude 2025, West Chester has been remarkably difficult to beat at home in recent years, posting a record of 67-17 (.797) in Hollinger since 2019-20, including a record of 21-3 at home over the last two seasons after an unbeaten regular season at home last Winter.
Series History
Winners of seven in a row over Mansfield, West Chester holds a 62-34 lead in the all-time series after a 113-75 win in Mansfield to start East play on January 7. This 113-point explosion got West Chester one step closer to another season sweep of the Mounties and is the most points West Chester has scored against a league foe since a 116-93 win over Mansfield in 1989, and is the most against a DII foe since a 113-91 win over Lincoln in 2019. In the first win over Mansfield,
Gabe Moss led four Golden Rams in double figures with 22 points, while
Ruben Rodriguez Jr. scored 20 of his own, along with 10 each from
Anthony McCall and
Joe Sedora. West Chester has not lost to Mansfield since January 2022 in Mansfield and has not lost to the Mounties in Hollinger since February 2008, when the Mounties escaped with a 60-57 victory as part of a modest three-game winning streak.
Scouting Mansfield
Mansfield enters play coming off a 66-60 win over Kutztown, which halted a 12-game losing streak and improved the Mounties to 2-17 overall and 1-12 in league action. Damien Berrios Rivera scored a team-high 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting with all five makes coming from three-point range, while Sterling Scott and JuJu Pagan scored 12 and 11 points, respectively. Scott also led the team in rebounding with eight, while Pagan, who began his career as a Golden Bear, grabbed seven rebounds in his return to Keystone Arena. Mansfield shot 45.6 % (26-of-57) from the field in the win, including an 8-for-20 (40.0 %) effort from beyond the arc, while also going 6-for-12 at the free throw line.
Mansfield enters play averaging 71.6 points per game on 41.9 % shooting from the field, including 28.7 % from beyond the arc, but trails 43.3-31.5 in rebounding and yields an average of91.4 points per game on 49.7 % shooting from the field. The Mounties also trail by -2.3 in the turnover battle. Individually, Scott leads the team in most major categories, averaging 13.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game, while Pagan averaged 10.2 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game of his own.
Up Next
West Chester will be right back in action on Monday night against Millersville, beginning at 7:30 p.m., before venturing to Kutztown and Shippensburg on February 4 and 7 at 7:30 and 3 p.m., respectively.
