After gaining some momentum last week with a pair of PSAC wins, the WCU men’s basketball team demonstrated some inconsistency this week as they dropped two straight PSAC games to Millersville and Kutztown. West Chester started off the week with a 77-59 out of conference win against Felician. Senior forward Lenwood Greenwood gave the performance of a lifetime, scoring 20 points and ripping down 20 rebounds. Greenwood shot 10-17 from the field and half of his rebounds came on the offensive glass. Sophomore guard Kenneth St. George also had a monster game, scoring 26 points on 6-10 shooting and added four assists as well as two rebounds. St. George shot 50 percent from beyond the arc, hitting four of his eight three-point attempts, and missed only one of his 11 free throws. Sophomore forward Kehinde Roberts contributed a very solid effort with 11 points and eight rebounds. The Rams tore the Felician defense to pieces on the strength of 49 percent shooting from the field, and shot 20-31 at the line. The biggest difference was WCU’s three point shooting. The Rams shot 7-18 from distance, and they were able to hound Felician into a paltry 5-26 from beyond the arc.
Fresh off of their third win in four games, the Rams traveled to Pucillo Gymnasium on the campus of Millersville University for a PSAC East date with the Marauders. Unfortunately for the Rams, they were unable to contain the dynamic duo of Reggie Bates and all-PSAC talent Charlie Parker as they fell by the score of 75-62. The two combined for 33 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and one major dagger to WCU’s hopes of an upset. An early Bates three-pointer gave Millersville a lead they would never relinquish. Greenwood would score early in the second half to dwindle the Marauder lead down to five, yet the Marauders used their experience and savvy to piece together a 17-3 lead which put the game out of the Rams’ reach.
Greenwood continued his recent solid play against the Marauders, scoring 13 points and adding seven rebounds. The hulking forward shot 5-11 from the field and was red-hot from downtown, hitting three of his four shots from beyond the arc. St. George, however, struggled against Millersville’s experienced guards, missing eight of his 11 shots, only grabbing two rebounds and failing to register an assist. Roberts had a very good game, however, as he chipped in 10 points and six rebounds. Millersville is a team that no one can afford to make mistakes against, yet the Rams made plenty of them and this in turn led to their downfall. The Rams had 12 steals against them, had six shots blocked, and had 16 turnovers. Millersville, by comparison, had six turnovers. The Rams also had a poor shooting day, converting only 22 of 57 shots from the field, including a meager 9-24 from distance.
The Rams then continued their three game road swing Saturday as they rolled into Keystone Hall at Kutztown, and rolled out with yet another conference loss as they fell to the Golden Bears 78-73. The loss dropped West Chester to 11-11 overall and a measly 2-5 in the conference. Kutztown spread out their offense as four of their five starters reached double digits, including Stephen Dennis with 17 and Dave Ben with 16. Ben hit a clutch go-ahead three pointer with one minute and change left, and Dennis hit a pair of free throws to seal the deal. Dennis also flashed his all-around game as he added seven rebounds, five assists and two steals. Two Kutztown players registered double-doubles, as Ryan Washington had 10 points and 10 rebounds and Andre Woodlin had 14 points and 10 rebounds.
On the West Chester side of things, St. George bounced back from his sub-par game against Millersville with 19 points and four rebounds. Freshman Aaron Smith was a major contributor with 12 points, five assists and two rebounds, and Roberts had 11 points and five rebounds. The Rams were up by 10 at halftime; however, they ran into foul trouble with Roberts fouling out and both Gerald Caldwell and St. George racking up four fouls. Couple that with the team missing forwards Sam Scott and Ralph Hegamin, and then losing Greenwood right after halftime to an ankle injury it’s quite understandable that the Rams faltered down the stretch. Scott, Hegamin and Greenwood represent three of their top four forwards, and a lack of size down the stretch can only spell doom.
Matt Chandik is a third-year undecided student. He can be reached at MC618553@wcupa.edu.