City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Here’s a look at our Division II Super 7 after a month of the regular season (preseason rank in parenthesis):

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Others to Watch: Bloomsburg (3-4, 0-4 PSAC), Chestnut Hill (4-4, 1-1 CACC), Holy Family (3-6, 2-1 CACC), Lock Haven (5-3, 1-3 PSAC) Mansfield (4-3, 2-2 PSAC), Millersville (4-3, 3-1 PSAC)

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7. West Chester Golden Rams (5)
Record: 4-4 (3-1 PSAC)
Last Two Weeks: vs. Bowie State (W, 94-92), @ Bloomfield (L, 97-86), @ Slippery Rock (L, 71-69), @ Edinboro (W, 81-70)
Star Watch: Malik Jackson (Soph./G) -- 23.3 ppg, 2.7 apg

Update: It’s been possibly a more difficult adjustment period than expected for West Chester, which did graduate an important senior class last year but had plenty of young pieces returning. Jackson, a Penn Wood grad, continues to shoulder the scoring burden, dropping 30 on Edinboro and 24 against Bloomfield, but he was the only double-digit Ram in that loss; classmate Matt Penecale (13.5 ppg) is the only other player to average double figures. The biggest issue right now is frontcourt production: last year, West Chester out-rebounded teams by an 8.5 rebound/game margin, but this year they’re losing the rebound battle by an average of a board per game. They’ll have their hands full this week with the defending league champs and another tough road game at Wilmington.

Next Two Weeks: @ Mercyhurst (Dec. 10, 3 PM), @ Wilmington (Dec. 12, 7 PM)

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6. Goldey-Beacom Lightning (OTW)
Record: 5-2 (3-1 CACC)
Last Two Weeks: @ USciences (W, 71-68, OT), vs. American International (W, 79-73), vs. Georgian Court (W, 80-50), @ Holy Family (W, 92-62)
Star Watch: Elijah Tillman (Sr./C) -- 13.6 ppg, 6.9 rpg

Update: First-year head coach T.J. Dekmar and the Lightning make their first appearance of the season thanks to a four-game win streak; they’re 5-1 in games against D-II opponents, losing to D-I Delaware by just eight points in the season opener, with the lone loss coming to Philly U by 16 on Nov. 16. Tillman, the team’s 6-8, 310-pound center, is the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, and though he’s not always needed for big minutes, he uses them well, like 13 points in 13 minutes against Holy Family and 16 points/seven rebounds in 18 minutes against AIC. Sophomore Corey Taite (10.1 ppg) also had a good two weeks, dropping 22 on USciences and 16 against AIC.

Next Two Weeks: vs. Chestnut Hill (Dec. 6, 8 PM), @ Lincoln (Pa.) (Dec. 10, 2 PM), vs. Pace (Dec. 12, 8 PM)

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5. Philadelphia University Rams (4)
Record: 5-3 (2-1 CACC)
Last Two Weeks: vs. NYIT (W, 69-56), @ Kutztown (L, 70-67), vs. USciences (W, 87-40), @ Wilmington (L, 70-64)
Star Watch: Kaison Randolph (Jr./G) -- 19.1 ppg, 7.9 rpg

Update: The head-to-head loss against Wilmington cost Philly U one spot, as there’s really no shame in losing by three at Kutztown (though Herb Magee certainly won’t take any solace in moral victories). Randolph had the team’s best individual performance of the last two weeks, going for 29 points and nine rebounds against Kutztown, but failed to get more than 15 in any of the other three outings. Senior wing Brendan Kilpatrick had a perfect day against USciences, scoring 18 points on 7-of-7 from the floor, including all four 3-point attempts. Tough road test at Saint Rose (9-1, 4-1 Northeast-10) looming after two more conference matchups.

Next Two Weeks: vs. Georgian Court (Dec. 6, 8 PM), @ Chestnut Hill (Dec. 10, 3 PM), @ Saint Rose (Dec. 17, 3 PM)

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4. Wilmington Wildcats (6)
Record: 5-3 (1-0 CACC)
Last Two Weeks: vs. Bloomsburg (L, 84-81), @ Shippensburg (L, 78-62), vs. Millersville (W, 74-69), vs. Philadelphia University (W, 70-64)
Star Watch: Nick Richards (Jr./G) -- 16.1 ppg, 6.9 rpg

Update: Despite two losses to begin the two weeks, Wilmington moves up two slots because a) the two teams above them also had two losses these last 14 days and b) they ended it with two very nice wins over Millersville and Philly U, the latter of which kicked off league play on a positive note. While senior guard Tyaire Ponzo-Meek (20.4 ppg) continues to lead the team in scoring for the third consecutive season, they’ve gotten a nice boost from Richards, a former Kirkwood CC (Iowa) guard and Hodgson Vo-Tech (Del.) grad who’s become a great second scoring option, knocking down 42.3 percent of his 3-point attempts to boot. He was in double figures in all four games, including 18 against Shippensburg and 17 against Philly U.

Next Two Weeks: @ USciences (Dec. 6, 8 PM), @ Georgian Court (Dec. 10, 3 PM), vs. West Chester (Dec. 12, 7 PM), @ Chestnut Hill (Dec. 15, 8 PM)

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3. East Stroudsburg Warriors (3)
Record: 6-3 (3-0 PSAC)
Last Two Weeks: @ Chestnut Hill (L, 79-77), vs. Penn State-Wilkes Barre (W, 99-66), @ Edinboro (W, 107-70), @ Mercyhurst (W, 69-57)
Star Watch: Rasheed Moore (Sr./F) -- 18.0 ppg, 6.9 rpg

Update: Moore only played in three of the Warriors’ four games these past two weeks, missing the win over D-III PSU Wilkes-Barre, but he made up for that in the other three. The 6-8 forward from Wilkes-Barre went for 28 points and nine rebounds in the road loss to Chestnut Hill and 15 points, seven rebounds against Edinboro, shooting a nifty 9-for-11 from the floor. Sophomore point guard Kitt Najee Walls (10.4 ppg, 4.4 apg) also deserves mention for a strong quartet of games, including an 18-point, nine-assist game against Wilkes-Barre; senior Steve Harris went off for 18 points and 17 rebounds in that one as well.

Next Two Weeks: @ Gannon (Dec. 10, 7:30 PM)

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2. Kutztown Bears (1)
Record: 6-1 (3-1 PSAC)
Last Two Weeks: vs. Philadelphia University (W, 70-67), @ Pitt-Johnstown (W, 96-90), @ Indiana (Pa.) (L, 77-76)
Star Watch: Ethan Ridgeway (Jr./PG) -- 13.0 ppg, 8.1 apg, 4.9 rpg

Update: Only a buzzer-beating put-back by IUP’s Devon Cottrell knocked Kutztown out of the top spot of the rankings for now, but the No. 8 team nationally won’t fall far from losing to No. 12 on the road. The Bears are still the team to beat in the East division, and a game against Shippensburg on Dec. 30 will be a high-profile clash early on in the league slate. Ridgeway, a 5-10 guard out of Bayard Rustin, has been dishing the ball at quite a high rate; his 8.1 apg are fourth in D-II, and he has at least eight assists in six of the team’s seven games. He also ticked up his scoring quite a bit of late, dropping 22 against Philly U and 21 at Pitt-Johnstown before a nine-point, 10-assist outing at IUP. Sophomore forward Dan Cuevas (12.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg) also broke double-figures in all three games, and has scored at least a dozen in each of the last five games.

Next Two Weeks: @ Seton Hill (Dec. 10, 3 PM), @ Bowie State (Dec. 18, 3 PM)

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1. Shippensburg Raiders (2)
Record: 7-0 (4-0 PSAC)
Last Two Weeks: vs. Wilmington (W, 78-62), @ Indiana (Pa.) (W, 87-80), @ Seton Hill (W, 76-69)
Star Watch: John Castello (Fr./F) -- 11.1 ppg, 9.1 rpg

Update: The only undefeated D-II team left in the area, the Raiders claim the No. 1 slot by default -- but they’ve certainly earned it. Dustin Sleva, the team’s standout junior forward, is doing his thing in averaging 20.6 ppg and 12.1 rpg, but this week we’re going to spotlight Castello. The 6-4 forward from Mars Area (Pa.) had two big double-doubles these last too weeks, going for 15 points and 15 rebounds (seven offensive) against Wilmington and 11 points/13 rebounds against Seton Hill. He only managed 10 against IUP, but senior guard Abe Massaley (22 pts) and junior Justin McCarthur (21 pts) led the way in that one.

Next Two Weeks: @ California (Pa.) (Dec. 10, 5 PM), vs. Shepherd (Dec. 19, 7 PM)

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