The 2004-2005 West Chester Golden Rams menʼs basketball team opened their season last Tuesday night with an 81-57 win over Wilmington College (DE).Junior guard Brandon Long scored 15 points and pulled down four rebounds to lead the Golden Rams in scoring. Long was followed by senior guards Matt Kurtz and Steve Fattori each added 11 points. Fattori went fi ve for 12 from the fi eld and dished out a trio of assists to help the Rams start the season at 1-0. Freshman guard Shawn Werdt and junior Mark Gerhart came off the bench to provide the Rams with solid minutes with both putting up eight points a piece. The 6-foot-8 inch sophomore, Aaron Williams gave West Chester the size they needed in the center to out-rebound Wilmington 39-34. Head Coach Dick DeLaneyin his 18th season debuted his 2004-2005 Golden Rams to a crowded Hollinger Field House full of students, faculty, staff, and community supporters who were ready to see the much-anticipated team take on Wilmington College.
“I hope the team continues to improve and mature. Brandon Long did a great job in the first game controlling the tempo and getting us into our offense. We need the young players to continue to improve for us to move forward and have a successful season. Then the bench gave us great contributions last night and hopefully that will continue in the future,” DeLaney said.
Wilmington’s Gavin Bethel provided the crowd with a spark with his technical foul against WCU’s Shawn Werdt resulting in a small court brawl between the teams. Then, thanks to the slam-dunk during the first half by Junior Azim Jones, West Chester fans were boiling with excitement.
West Chester dominated the entire game allowing 15 players to see time on the floor with 13 of those players putting points on the board. With only a few seconds left, junior forward Thurman D’Argenio came off the bench and scored on a reverse lay-up to end the game. The Rams traveled to Kutztown over the weekend for the Kutztown Classic and recorded two wins. On Friday the Rams beat West Virginia State 82- 63, and on Saturday they topped Holy Family 75-66. The Rams are now 3-0 on the season.
The Ram’s next home game is Nov. 27, at 3 p.m. when they take on ShepardCollege (WV) Saturday atHollinger Field House.