Just a week after the Golden Rams men’s basketball handled the Shippensburg Red Raiders 78-59 to close out their regular season schedule, they met again in Hollinger Field House for the second round of the PSAC tourney.
In their last meeting, the Golden Rams held Ship to just 29 percent shooting from the field while keeping their star players in check for the entirety of the game. This game was nothing like that. Both teams came out with energy, and it was obvious that it would be a hard-fought match-up.
As usual, Tyrell Long paced the Golden Rams in the first half with 11 points, scoring seven of them in the first few minutes of the contest. Unlike the last game, Ship’s Dustin Sleva and Clay Conner came out strong, scoring 11 and 10 points respectively. A nice run to end the half put Ship ahead of the Golden Rams by nine at 29-37.
In the second half, West Chester scored six unanswered points to trim a 10-point lead to four with 17 minutes remaining in the game. Ship pushed their lead to 14 with 12 minutes left to play, but the Golden Rams would not go away easily.
The Golden Rams trimmed the Ship lead to just four once again with just two minutes left in the contest, but failed to get crucial stops. Costly fouls sealed the Golden Rams’ fate, as they fell to the defending PSAC champs.
Outside of a few face-up jumpers from Frank Rokins, West Chester failed to establish a post-presence throughout the game. The team also struggled to connect on very many three-pointers, finishing the game with a lowly 4-23 (17 percent) from deep.
Tyrell Long led the team with 23 points, while Jackson Hyland scored 22 and Evan-Eric Longino chipped in 13.
The season may not be over just yet for the Golden Rams. They will know their fate before Sunday night is over, as the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Committee will announce their selections for the tournament. West Chester is currently the third seed in the Atlantic region, but the loss to Ship could hurt their chances. But, there is still hope
Quaadree Harris is a fourth-year student majoring in communication studies and minoring in journalism. ✉ QH859675@wcupa.edu.