MILLERSVILLE, Pa.- Looking to close out the month on a four-game winning streak, the West Chester University men's basketball team (17-9, 14-6) is finishing its preparations for its final road trip of the year as the Golden Rams will visit PSAC-East leader Millersville (22-4, 17-3) on Wednesday night beginning at 7:30 p.m.

With the results of the weekend, West Chester locked itself in as the fourth seed in the PSAC Tournament, and the Golden Rams will host Shepherd in the First Round of the PSAC Tournament on Monday, March 4, beginning at 7 p.m. Fans interested in attending Monday night's game vs Shepherd must purchase tickets online via this link. For Millersville, the Marauders recently knocked off No. 15 ESU in a battle for first on Saturday afternoon and took sole possession of the top spot in the East, heading into a pair of big games against West Chester and Lock Haven this week.

SERIES INFORMATION
Winners of four of its last five, West Chester enters play on Wednesday looking to pick up a split of the season series against Millersville and improve to 107-103 all-time against the Marauders. One of the oldest rivalries in the PSAC, West Chester and Millersville will play for the 210th time in their history on Wednesday night. Millersville escaped with a win in the first meeting between the two rivals as the Marauders picked up a narrow 89-86 victory over the Golden Rams in Hollinger in late January.

FLOCK TALK

West Chester earned its second gaudy victory on Saturday, posting a 97-63 win over Mansfield after outscoring the Mounties by 20 (51-31) in the second half. Mansfield got out to an early lead but did not lead for long as West Chester carried a 46-32 lead into the halftime break and used a 12-0 run late in the second half to lead by as many as 40 with just under six minutes to play. Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover) led West Chester in scoring with 22 points on 7-of-14 shooting, while Robert Smith chipped in 19 of his own on 7-of-14 as well. Jordan Kellier (Kingston, Jamaica/Redemption Christian) picked up a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Saleem Payne (Philadelphia, Pa./Phelps School) turned in a career-high 11 points. West Chester shot 44.7 % from the field and 44.8 % from three-point range while also 16-of-20 at the line in the victory.

 Allen and Smith continue to show themselves as one of the better guard duos in the league as they rank first and second on the team in scoring and rank eighth and 13^th in the PSAC, averaging 18.2 and 17.1 points per game. Allen ranks third on the team in rebounding, trailing Kellier and Joshua Walker, averaging 4.6 boards per game, while leading the team in steals, averaging 1.4 per game as well. Kellier ranks third in Division II in double-doubles with 15 on the year, recording a double-double in nine of the last 10 games for the Golden Rams. Averaging 10.7 rebounds per game, Kellier ranks fifth in Division II in rebounds per game while continuing to lead the league in this category.

Averaging 82.1 points per game, West Chester is just behind Millersville on the PSAC scoring chart as the Golden Rams rank fifth in the league, shooting 46.1 % from the field and 35.2 % from beyond the arc while also remaining one of the top rebounding teams in the league and DII. West Chester ranks 12^th in DII in offensive rebounding, averaging 13.8 per game, while continuing to rank among the league leaders in rebounding overall, carrying a +7.4 (39.9-32.5) advantage into Wednesday night's clash vs Millersville. West Chester also holds a slim 14.0-13.5 lead in the turnover battle, thanks in large part to a 7.7/steal per game average led by Allen and Smith, who average 1.4 and 1.3 per game, respectively.

SCOUTING MILLERSVILLE

Currently on an eight-game winning streak after dispatching East Stroudsburg on Saturday afternoon after a 93-88 victory over the nationally-ranked Warriors. PSAC East Athlete of the Week, Matt Dade, had a career day in the victory, finishing with 37 points to help lead his Marauders to a Senior Day triumph over the visiting Warriors. Millersville held a 46-33 lead at the half, and this advantage proved crucial down the stretch as the Warriors attempted to mount a second-half comeback, outscoring their hosts 55-47 in the final 20 minutes of action. Millersville shot an outstanding 63.0 % from the field and an even 50.0 % from three-point range, going 8-for-16 from deep in the five-point victory. Millersville also shot 68.0 % from the line, hitting 17 free throws while also ending the game with a 17-14 lead in the turnover battle to pull the upset.

As a team, Millersville enters play with a record of 22-4 on the year, averaging 82.9 points per game on 50.1 % shooting from the field and 37.6 % from three-point range. The Marauders rank fourth in the league in scoring average while also holding opponents to an average of just 74.1 points per game. Millersville enters the game with a 35.3-32.6 advantage in rebounds per game, along with a 13.4-14.7 advantage in turnovers. Dade has led Millersville in scoring for much of the season, averaging 18.4 points per game after his 37-point outburst on Saturday. He also ranks second on the team in rebounding, averaging 5.3 per game, trailing only Drew Stover, who averages 5.5. Jaden Faulkner leads Millersville in assists, dishing out an average of 5.1 helpers per game while also leading in steals, averaging 1.5 per game, and ranking second in scoring, pouring in an average of 16.8 per game.

UP NEXT:

West Chester will return home on Saturday afternoon to host Bloomsburg on Senior Day beginning at 3 p.m.