SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.V.- Entering the final weeks of the regular season, the West Chester University men's basketball team (18-6, 12-5) finds itself tied atop the PSAC East with Shepherd (16-8, 12-5) heading into an important matchup in West Virginia on Wednesday night. West Chester has split its first four games of February but will look to halt Shepherd's seven-game winning streak, the East's longest active streak, with a win on Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m.
West Chester at Shepherd
Game Details: February 18 I 7:30 P.M.
Location: Butcher Athletic Center (Shepherdstown, W.V.)
Series: 14-3
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Last Time Out
West Chester enters play on Wednesday well rested after a well-deserved week off following an 88-59 home victory over Bloomsburg last Wednesday night. West Chester took a 21-point lead into the halftime break and led by as many as 31 in the second half in a wire-to-wire victory.
Ruben Rodriguez Jr. (Reading, Pa./Reading) led West Chester with 22 points and was one of three Golden Rams in double figures as
Dylan Blair (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) and
Jaysean Williams (Bloomfield, Ct./The Patrick School) added 13 and 12 each. West Chester shot north of 50.0 % from the field in both halves and ended the game shooting 52.5 % (31-of-59) from the field, including a 47.1 (8-for-17) effort from three-point range, while also going 18-for-26 (69.2 %) at the line.
Flock Talk
West Chester enters play on Wednesday averaging 86.1 points per game on 48.5 % shooting from the field, ranking third in the league in both scoring average and field goal percentage. Within this 48.5 % shooting effort from the field, West Chester shoots 34.5 % from three-point range and 69.9 % from the line, while also holding a 39.7-30.3 lead in rebounding along with a +3.0 (15.1-18.1) lead in turnovers, thanks in part to a 9.4 steal per game average. West Chester's opponents enter play averaging 73.4 points per game on 45.0 % shooting from the field, including a 31.5 % effort from beyond the arc.
Individually, Rodriguez Jr. is first on the team in scoring, averaging 15.3 points per game along with 6.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.9 steals per game, all of which are best on the team.
Anthony McCall (Philadelphia, Pa./ANC) is second in scoring, averaging 13.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, while
Gabe Moss (Pottstown, Pa./The Hill School) is second in scoring, averaging 12.3 points along with 3.9 rebounds per game. Blair is also second on the team in assists, averaging 4.1 helpers per game.
Superlative Central
West Chester is outscoring opponents in the paint (770-528), in second-chance points (324-172), and in points off turnovers (400-291) through 24 games.
Second Chances
The Golden Rams are fourth in Division II in offensive rebounds per game, averaging 15.6, sixth in rebounding margin (+9.4), 27th in rebounding (39.7), and 11th in turnovers forced (18.1).
Second Unit Strong
West Chester's bench is outscoring opponents 555-439 so far this season, averaging 30.1 points per game, which is third best in the PSAC and 31st nationally.
Sharp Shooters
West Chester is 10-2 when shooting north of 50% from the field, having done so three times in the last five games and seven times in 2026.
Every Game Matters
West Chester sits in a tie for first atop the PSAC East with Shepherd and holds a slim lead over Millersville and East Stroudsburg, who are both chasing the Golden Rams and Rams at 12-6 on the year. Millersville is the only team of the four that currently holds a tiebreaker over West Chester, as the Golden Rams will go for season-series sweeps of the Rams and Warriors over the next two weeks, while also looking for an important split with Millersville.
Series History
West Chester ran its winning streak against Shepherd to 10 in a row earlier this season with an 80-73 victory, which improved West Chester to 14-3 all-time against the Rams. While West Chester does hold a comfortable lead in the series, recent history has been anything but lopsided as the Golden Rams have won just two games during this streak by 10 or more points, including an 82-72 win in West Chester in January 2024 and a 70-57 win in February 2022. Outside of these two wins, West Chester and Shepherd have been separated by just a point on two separate occasions, and the Golden Rams needed overtime to leave Shepherdstown with a win in February 2024. The Golden Rams have not lost to Shepherd since 2022, when the Rams earned a 70-65 victory over the Purple and Gold.
Scouting Shepherd
The hottest team in the PSAC East, Shepherd (16-8, 12-5) enters play on Wednesday night riding a seven-game winning streak, which is the second longest in the PSAC as a whole, trailing only national power Gannon, who has won nine straight. Shepherd has not lost since an 80-73 setback against the Golden Rams in West Chester in late January, which dropped the Rams to 2-3 in PSAC East play. The Rams' most recent win came at Mansfield on Saturday afternoon by an 86-72 final, and this followed back-to-back wins over East Stroudsburg (100-95) and Millersville (65-61) on February 7 and 11, respectively. At Mansfield, Shepherd took a 45-29 lead into the halftime break and never relinquished this early advantage in a 14-point victory over the Mounties. Elwyne Wordlaw led Shepherd in scoring with 18 points in 27 minutes off the bench, while Dauda Traore added 17, along with 15 from Brody Davis and 14 each from Favor Okigweh and Colby White as the Rams finished with three starters in double figures. Davis led the starting five in scoring, and Okigweh posted a double-double as he grabbed 12 rebounds, including seven on the defensive glass. Marcus Banks, who has been among the league's leading scorers, was limited to just six points on 3-of-15 shooting in 33 minutes but added seven rebounds and six assists in the victory.
For the season, Shepherd enters play averaging 74.9 points per game on 46.8 % shooting from the field and 36.8 % from beyond the arc, while also shooting 69.1 % from the free-throw line. Shepherd's opponents average 70.9 points per game on 43.3 % shooting from the field and 32.0 % from three-point range. Shepherd also holds a 37.9-33.6 (+4.3) lead in rebounding but trails by -2.5 (11.5-9.0) in turnovers, averaging just five steals per game. Individually, Banks remains the leading scorer, averaging 18.3 points per game, followed by Worldaw, who averages 16.0 per game. Okigweh is the leading rebounder, averaging 9.5 rebounds per game, while Banks is second, averaging 6.5 per game along with a team-best 4.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game.
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action on Saturday at home against Lock Haven before concluding its regular season with games against Millersville (Wednesday away) and East Stroudsburg (Saturday home).
