RELEASE DATE: 1/22/05

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MOUNTIES STAGE LATE SECOND HALF RALLY IN 53-50 WIN OVER WEST CHESTER

MANSFIELD – Jeremy Frey hit two free throws with 7.4 seconds to play to cap off a late rally to lead Mansfield to a 53-50 win over West Chester in a key PSAC East contest Saturday afternoon at Decker Gymnasium.

“It wasn’t a pretty game,” said head coach Vince Alexander. “But we needed a win like that against a quality opponent in a close game.”

Both teams struggled for much of the game with the Mountaineers shooting just 25% from the floor in the first half in trailing 24-18 at intermission. Both teams combined for 24 first half turnovers.

“We two different style of teams,” explained Alexander. “We like to run and shoot while West Chester likes to slow it down and are very tough defensively. We tried to dictate the tempo of play as did they. They managed to slow the game down, but at the end of the game it was our defense that won it for us.”

The sloppy play continued in the second half with both teams shooting a combined 3-17 over the first six minutes of play.

West Chester held a slim 28-26 advantage with 13:39 to play before hitting three straight shots to take a 36-26 lead over a two minute span.

But the Mountaineers refused to fold and cut the lead to four points on a couple 3-pointers by Terrance Williams and David Hoopes.

Mansfield tied the score at 42-42 on a 3-pointer by Brandon DeShields with 4:49 and held a 51-49 lead with 8.4 second to play when West Chester’s Matt Kurtz made one of two free throws to cut lead to 51-50.

Jeremy Frey was fouled on the in bounds play and connected on both free throws with 7.4 remaining. West Chester managed to get off a 3-pointer just before the buzzer but the shot was just short to seal the win for Mansfield.

“We had a lot of guys step up today who have been in the background for much of the season,” said Alexander. “Jeremy Frey got a start and came through with a solid game as did Carlos Collazo and Brandon DeShields.”

Collazo was key in the final three minutes of the game after fellow post player Justin Kress picked up his fifth foul. Playing with four fouls himself, he  connected on all four free throws while the Mountaineer defense held West Chester to just one bucket from the floor of the final six minutes of the game.

The Mountaineers also dominated the boards in the second half, out rebounding West Chester 21-10 over the final 20 minutes of play.

It was the lowest scoring win for a Mountaineer team since Mansfield beat West Chester 15-8 in 1985.

Collazo led the Mountaineers with 13 points and six rebounds while David Hoopes scored 11 points. Jeremy Frey added nine points and Brandon DeShields eight.

Matt Kurtz led three West Chester players in double figures in 14 points.

It was a big win for the Mountaineers who evened their PSAC record at 1-1 in their quest for a PSAC playoff berth. West Chester falls to 12-6 overall and 2-1 in PSAC East play. It marked the third straight time the Mountaineers have defeated West Chester at Decker Gymnasium.

Mansfield will host Bloomsburg this Wednesday in a PSAC East contest.

MANSFIELD UNIVERSITY 53, WEST CHESTER UNIVERSITY 50

WEST CHESTER UNIVERSITY (12-6 (2-1))

KURTZ, Matt 4-10 4-6 14; GERHART, Mark 3-4 2-4 10; WILLIAMS, Aaron 3-8 4-9

10; WESTMORELAND, Justin 2-3 1-3 5; LONG, Brandon 1-6 2-2 4; WERDT, Shawn

1-4 0-0 3; GREENWOOD, Lenwood 0-5 0-0 0; JONES, Azim 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 14-42

17-28 50.

MANSFIELD UNIVERSITY (8-9 (1-1))

COLLAZO, Carlos 3-4 7-8 13; HOOPES, David 4-12 0-0 11; FREY, Jeremy 3-7 3-5

9; DESHIELDS, Brandon 3-6 0-0 8; WILLIAMS, Terrance 2-3 0-0 5; BENSON, Jason

1-7 2-3 5; BRYANT, Brian 1-4 0-0 2; KRESS, Justin 0-1 0-0 0; HILL, Kevin 0-3

0-0 0; ANDERSON, Ian 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-48 12-16 53.

West Chester University.......   24   26  -   50

Mansfield University..........   18   35  -   53

3-point goals-West Chester University 5-14 (KURTZ, Matt 2-6; GERHART, Mark

2-3; WERDT, Shawn 1-2; LONG, Brandon 0-2; GREENWOOD, Lenwood 0-1),