KUTZTOWN, Pa.- Following its first loss in nearly a month, the West Chester University men's basketball team (16-5, 10-4) will look to get right back in the win column on Wednesday night as the Golden Rams play their fourth game in five days at Kutztown (5-13, 2-11) beginning at 7:30 p.m. in Keystone Arena.
West Chester at Kutztown
Game Details: February 4 I 7:30 P.M.
Location: Keystone Arena (Kutztown, Pa.)
Series: 84-41
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Last Time Out
West Chester returns to action on Wednesday following its first loss in nearly a month as the Golden Rams were edged by Millersville by an 82-75 final on Monday night in Hollinger Field House. Thanks in part to a 10-0 run late in the first half, Millersville carried a 15-point lead into the second half before West Chester went to work. The Golden Rams used a 23-7 run midway through the second half to erase the deficit and grab a 62-61 lead before falling behind 64-62 with 9:25to play. West Chester answered back and tied the game at 73-73 with two minutes to play and had a chance to take a one-point lead with six seconds to play on a driving layup by
Ruben Rodriguez Jr. (Reading, Pa./Reading), but the shot fell off the rim, and Millersville escaped with an 82-75 victory.
Gabe Moss (Pottstown, Pa./The Hill School) led West Chester in scoring with 24 points as one of three Golden Rams in double figures.
Anthony McCall (Philadelphia, Pa./ANC) and Rodriguez Jr. joined Moss in double figures with 18 and 11, respectively. West Chester shot nearly 60.0 % (59.3 %; 16-of-27) from the field in the second half to shoot 48.2 % (27-of-56) from the field in the loss, including a 5-for-15 (33.3 %) effort from three-point range and a 61.5 % (16-of-26) effort at the line.
Flock Talk
Boasting the 21st-ranked offense in Division II men's basketball, averaging 87.2 points per game, West Chester enters play shooting 48.6 % forom the field, which is 27
th-best in Division II, including a 33.9 % effort from beyond the arc. West Chester is also shooting 70.0% from the line and retaining a +10.4 (40.6-30.2) lead in rebounding, which is third-best in DII. Of its 40.6 rebounds per game, West Chester is third in offensive rebounding, averaging 15.9 offensive rebounds per game, which helps the team rank 18
th in DII in rebounding overall. West Chester is also 10
th in turnovers forced, averaging 18.1 per game, which allowed the team to post a +2.6 turnover margin while averaging just 15.6 turnovers of its own. The Golden Rams are also 16
th in DII and third in the PSAC in assists, averaging 17.8 per game, while Gannon, who remains the league leader, averages 18.1 assists per game.
Individually, Rodriguez Jr. continues to lead the team in scoring, rebounding, assists, and steals, averaging 15.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 2.0 steals per game. Since the calendar turned to 2026, Rodriguez Jr. is averaging 15.7 points per game, including a career-high 30 points to help lead West Chester to a road win at Indiana (Pa.) for the first time since 2015. Rodriguez Jr. has also recorded three double-doubles during this stretch, including an 11-point, 10-assist double-double in the loss to Millersville on Monday night. McCcall is second in scoring, averaging 13.8 points per game along with 4.5 rebounds per contest, followed by Moss and his 12.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.
Dylan Blair (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) is fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 9.2 points per game, and is second in assists, averaging 4.3 per game.
Comeback Kids
West Chester is 5-4 this season when trailing at the half, including comeback wins at Indiana (Pa.) and East Stroudsburg. West Chester nearly erased a 15-point deficit on Monday night for what would've been its sixth comeback victory of the season.
Superlative Central
West Chester is outscoring opponents in the paint (922-674), in second-chance points (366-204), and in points off turnovers (460-351), as well as points off the bench (647-536).
Sharp Shooters
'West Chester is 8-1 when shooting north of 50 % from the field and has done so three times in the last five games, with the lone exceptions coming against East Stroudsburg and Millersville.
Second Unit Strong
West Chester is 28
th in Division II and third in the PSAC in points off the bench per game, averaging 30.8 per game. East Stroudsburg remains the league leader in points by the second unit, averaging 45.2 per game.
Series History
West Chester will return to action on Wednesday and look to improve to 84-41 all-time against Kutztown after opening the season series with a 93-68 victory in Hollinger early in January. West Chester will look to complete the season sweep of the Golden Bears for the fourth year in a row on Wednesday night and avoid their first loss to Kutztown since a 94-92 setback in Kutztown in January 2022.
Scouting Kutztown
Kutztown enters play following a 66-60 loss to Mansfield on January 29 for its fourth loss in a row, with its last win coming over Bloomsburg by a 79-47 final on January 17. At home against Mansfield last Thursday, the Mounties jumped out to a 42-26 lead and despite Kutztown outscoring its guests by 10 (34-24) in the second half it was not enough to come all the way and earn its third PSAC win of the year as the Golden Bears fell to 5-14 overall and 2-12 in league play. Jalen Bryant led the team in scoring with 16 points and seven rebounds, while Kidd Brizek and Jordan Nkoa Abessolo each registered double-doubles with 14 points and 12 rebounds and 13 points and 14 rebounds, respectively.
As a team, Kutztown enters play averaging 69.1 points per game and allowing 74.3 per game. The Golden Bears shoot 43.2 % from the field and 30.9 % from beyond the arc, while opponents shot 42.2 % and 32.2 %. Kutztown also shoots 67.8 % from the free-throw line. Kutztown also holds a 38.6-35.9 lead in rebounding but trails 15.7-11.9 (-3.8) in turnovers, averaging just 6.1 steals per game. Individually, Bryant leads the team in scoring, averaging 17.3 points per game along with 3.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. Nkoa Abessolo averages more than a double-double per game, scoring 14.1 points and averaging 10.2 rebounds per game, while Omari Banks leads the team in assists, averaging 3.5 per game to go along with 9.7 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action on Saturday afternoon at Shippensburg beginning at 3 p.m.
