The Men’s Basketball Team continued its rollercoaster season last week, splitting conference games with cross-county rival Cheyney University and also with Mansfield. The team was able to upend a talented Cheyney Wolves team 59-58 on the road, however they continued their trend of spotty, inconsistent play with an ugly 85-71 loss to Mansfield which causes the current PSAC East standings to get very, very tight. The Rams started off the week on Valentine’s Day by traveling to a venue that is known as one of the hardest gyms to play at in the PSAC, Cheyney’s Cope Hall. WCU came out with yet another slow start, something that has become a trend for this team. The raucous partisan Cheyney crowd appeared to fuel the Wolves’ effort as they took a commanding 18-7 lead merely eight minutes into the game and it appeared as if the Rams would let another big game slip away from their grasp.
Enter Donnell Butler.
The senior forward had one of his biggest games of the season, scoring 21 points and adding seven rebounds to lead the Golden Rams. Butler was five of 10 shooting from the field in the first half for 12 points and added three rebounds to bring the Golden Rams back into the game.
The phenomenal small forward was able to match Cheyney’s own superstar Ed Braswell shot for shot in a superhuman effort to breathe some life into his teammates. Freshman point guard Kenneth St. George also made a large contribution to the win by scoring eight points and adding a pair of rebounds. St. George still does not look to be fully healed from his shoulder injury suffered nearly a month ago, but with every passing game it appears he is regaining his poise and swagger which had him as one of the top point guards in the PSAC. WCU really struggled from the field in the first half, shooting a pedestrian 9-26. However, they shot the long ball very well making 42.9% of their threes in the first half.
Cheyney’s two-sport star, Dominique Curry, brought the loud crowd to its feet with a thundering dunk with 5:30 left in the first half to give Cheyney a 26-16 lead, and it appeared as if the Wolves were well on their way to claiming an easy victory.
With junior forward Lenwood Greenwood grabbing every rebound in sight, the Rams were able to chip away at the Wolves’ lead, trimming it down to 30-25 by halftime. While Greenwood was held in check offensively during the first half to a single point, Cheyney had no answer for him on the glass as he snagged 7 of his game high 11 rebounds in the half.
Senior forward Aaron Williams, who was completely shut out in the first half as he failed to register a point or a rebound, sprang to life coming out of the break. The big man scored 8 points in the second half and added 5 rebounds to lead the Rams comeback. His free throw at the 15:48 mark made the game 33-33, marking the closest the Rams had gotten to Cheyney since the opening tip. Butler’s layup merely two minutes later gave the Rams their first lead of the game. From there, the two teams fought tooth and nail, jockeying for the lead. Senior shooting guard Shawn Werdt came up huge as he calmly nailed a three pointer with 2:30 left to give WCU a 54-51 lead, a lead they would never relinquish. With the game 57-56, Greenwood ripped down Ed Braswell’s missed free throw and was fouled. He then proceeded to hit both of his free throws, icing the game for WCU.
One of the more noteworthy things about the game was WCU’s 3 point shooting, usually mediocre, was a force on this night. The Rams, led by Werdt’s 4-6 shooting, shot 9-18 from beyond the arc. With the high that came from beating Cheyney on the road, also came the low from losing 85-71 to Mansfield at Decker Gymnasium. Greenwood paced the Golden Rams with an outstanding individual effort as he scored 21 points and added 10 rebounds and Butler added 16 points and 5 boards. West Chester returned to their struggling ways from distance, however, shooting a paltry 5 of 19 from beyond the arc. Werdt had a nice game, chipping in 14 points and 4 rebounds, but the lack of bench scoring really hurt the Rams. Williams does not appear to be at full strength yet as he recovers from a chest injury, as he was held in check in this game to 11 points and 4 rebounds. This would be a pretty good game for most players, but Williams has made West Chester fans greedy with numerous double-doubles and they have come to expect more of him, especially as the season his the home stretch. He is the leader of this team and if West Chester has any post-season hopes, he is the horse that they must ride. The Golden Rams also need to find more scoring from their bench. Against Mansfield, the five starters scored 66 of the 71 points, with only Anthony Geiger (2 points) and Sam Scott (3 points) scoring off the bench. The Rams will next travel to Washington, D.C on Monday for an out of conference tilt with the UDC Firebirds, a team that handed the Golden Rams a home loss two weeks ago by the score of 71-61. Wednesday night will be Senior Night at Hollinger Field House as the Golden Rams take on Bloomsburg at 8 p.m., and WCU finishes the week on Saturday with a PSAC game against Millersville.