Boxscore
PIKE CREEK, Del. – Ralph Hegamin's only three-point field goal of the night gave West Chester a 64-60 lead with just over a minute left in regulation, and Elie Daniel's two free-throws with three seconds remaining sealed the victory, as the host Goldey-Beacom College men's basketball team fell, 67-64 in its season opener Tues. night at the Jones Center.
Lightning senior guard Kyle White, who led all scorers on the night with 20 points including 16 in the second half, took a desperation heave from just beyond mid-court, but the shot rimmed out as the Rams improved to 4-0 and GBC fell to 0-1 to start its season.
Following Hegamin's three-point field goal, White got to the free-throw line with 47 seconds left to play and made both to cut the deficit to two. The Lightning then sent WCU's Kehinde Roberts to the line, and he made the first, but missed the second.
GBC head coach Chuck Hammond called timeout, and on the ensuing possession, junior guard Sam McDuffie missed a three-point attempt, got his own rebound and put in a layup with six seconds left in regulation to bring the Lightning within one.GBC's Jon Crawford fouled Daniel, who then made his two free-throws to give West Chester the three-point lead.
On the ensuing Lightning inbound pass, the ball was deflected out of bounds just before midcourt by a Ram defender. Hammond called timeout, but the Lightning would still have to inbound the ball from approximately three feet behind the midcourt line with 2.5 seconds left on the clock. Consequently, they could not get a good shot off as White was forced to take a desperation shot from just past mid-court.
The game featured 11 ties and 12 lead changes. West Chester held a slight, 29-28 rebounding advantage and turned the ball over 10 times to GBC's 16.
The Lightning were led by four scorers in double-figures: White (20 points, four assists), junior forward Terrence Parkes (14 points, six rebounds), McDuffie (13 points, six rebounds), and junior guard Azeez Ellegood (11 points, two assists, three steals).
The Rams had three scorers in double figures. Hegamin led the team with 15 points, Daniel had 14 points and Roberts had 10. Sandy Tanner also pitched in eight points and four assists, and Sam Scott scored nine points off the bench. WCU's bench outscored GBC 20-3 on the night.
The Lightning are back in action on Mon., Nov. 30 at 7 p.m. as they visit Shippensburg University.
