WCU Upsets Bloomsburg

The following is press release from the athletic department.

Carl Johnson posted a game-high 19 points, and Lance McDowell registered his eighth double-double of the season, as third-seeded West Chester University upset second-seeded Bloomsburg University on the road in the PSAC Quarterfinals inside Nelson Field House Tuesday evening.
 
West Chester (18-9) advances to the conference semifinals for the seventh time in school history and the first time since 2006. The Golden Rams will face two-time defending conference champion Indiana (Pa.) (23-4) in the second of two semifinal contests at home in the friendly confines of Hollinger Field House Friday evening at 7:30 p.m. The other semifinal pits East Stroudsburg (18-11) against Mercyhurst (18-9) at 5:30 p.m.
 
The Golden Rams led from opening tip to the final buzzer, jumping out to an early 8-0 lead and never looking back. West Chester went on a 20-10 run with 9:25 left in the opening stanza that pushed its eight-point advantage to 18 (43-25) late. McDowell sparked the run with eight of his 15 points on the night. He also grabbed 10 rebounds.
 
West Chester has now won nine straight and 11 of its last 12. The Golden Rams last put together a winning streak this long when they opened the 2009-10 campaign at 9-0.

West Chester won all three meetings with Bloomsburg this winter, after sweeping the regular-season series. Carl Johnson scored a career-high 20 points in WCU's win in Hollinger last month. The junior averaged 17 points per game against the Huskies in the three encounters.
 
Bloomsburg cut its deficit to 11 by halftime and got the lead down to as little as nine points early in the second half. However, West Chester answered with an 11-3 spurt that nudged its advantage back to 17 (56-39) with 11:19 to play. The Rams kept the lead in double digits for much of the remainder. The Huskies crawled back to within nine (79-70) with 94 seconds to go. But, WCU closed out the game with the next four points.
 
The Huskies connected on just one of their final four 3-point shots in a desperate attempt to make a comeback.
 
Head coach Damien Blair picked up his first postseason win as a college basketball coach. He is now 1-1 in two playoff seasons during his four-year coaching career. The victory also marked West Chester’s first postseason triumph since 2005-06.
 
NOTES: West Chester is now 9-13 in the PSAC Tournament … the Golden Rams last reached the conference semifinals in 2006 when they hosted the final four as well … this year marks the third time that West Chester will have hosted the conference semifinals (2000, 2006) …Tuesday’s win marked just the second time that the Golden Rams have won a PSAC playoff game on the road … WCU is now 2-5 away from Hollinger Field House in the conference tournament … West Chester has reached the PSAC championship game twice (1998, 2001), losing on both occasions … the only time the Golden Rams have won the PSAC title was in 1959.