In the first of a three-game PSAC Crossover home stand, Seton Hill fell behind hot-shooting West Chester by 11 at halftime and could not overcome that deficit, as the Rams claimed a 95-82 victory over the Griffins Tuesday evening.
It was close to start the opening half, as
Miles Monchecourt had seven points in the first seven minutes, including a trey which pulled the Griffins within a point at 17-16. West Chester answered back with an 11-0 spurt which featured a pair of three-pointers and a traditional three-point play to build a 28-17 cushion. Seton Hill kept the margin around 10 through the rest of the half and looked like they might be within single digits at the the break when
Samuel Tabe pulled a defensive rebound and went coast-to-coast for the dunk to make it a nine-point spread. The Rams had the final score of the half however, using a late bucket to push their lead to 44-33 going into halftime.
The slam by Tabe closed a big first half, as he had 10 at the break, but the Rams made 18-of-30 attempts from the field and 5-of-9 from the arc in building their halftime lead.
Baskets by Tabe,
Sean Dillon and Monchecourt had SHU within 10 at 49-39 early in the second half, but West Chester started adding to their lead. A 10-2 run by the Rams pushed the advantage to 18 points and West Chester was on top 82-62 with four minutes left.
The Griffins closed the game with a strong surge, putting 20 points on the board in the final four minutes. Moon, who had a big second half, scored five during the closing run, which also featured treys from Dillon,
Ryan Meis and
Drew Green to bring the Rams' final margin to 95-82.
Tabe was the top scorer for Seton Hill with 19 markers and he also hauled down a team-leading eight rebounds. Moon knocked down three three-pointers in scoring 16 of his 18 points in the second half and added three steals. Dillon matched Moon with a trio of threes to finish with a career-high 13 points and Green posted 12 points and handed out four assists.
The Griffins will be back on the floor this weekend with a pair of home games against PSAC East programs. The first match-up is a tilt with Millersville at 3 pm on Saturday.
