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EAST STROUDSBURG – Matt Penecale went 1 for 2 from the free throw line with eight-tenths of a second remaining, rimming in his second attempt to hand West Chester an 88-87 victory over East Stroudsburg University at Koehler Fieldhouse on Wednesday.

The Golden Rams (14-5, 9-2 PSAC) remain tied with Shippensburg for first place in the PSAC East standings, while the Warriors (11-6, 8-3 PSAC) drop to third after suffering their second-straight one-point defeat at home.

A three-point play by freshman Ryan Smith put the Warriors up 83-82 with 1:22 remaining and began a wild final sequence of events. Jackson Hyland responded with a 3-pointer on the other end, only to see redshirt senior Josh Williams even up the score on a long two-point jump shot on the ensuing trip down the floor.

West Chester went up again on a Hyland layup with 17 seconds left, and a right-side layup by redshirt senior Jakwan Jones leveled the score at 87-87 with six seconds on the clock. Penecale drew contact just inside the 3-point line to earn the decisive trip to the free throw line.

The Golden Rams snap a six-game losing streak to the Warriors inside Koehler Fieldhouse, with Hyland providing a game-high 30 points (9-14 FG, 10-14 FT).

Smith led the Warriors with a season-high 22 points and 12 rebounds. The double-double is the fifth of his debut collegiate season, and he has now surpassed 20 points three times on the year.

All five ESU starters finished in double figures. Senior Nick Giordano totaled 14 points, Williams and Jones has 12 points each, and junior Montrel Morgan added 11. Jones also supplied five steals and four assists. Williams, meanwhile, finished one rebound shy of his ninth double-double of the season.

The game took well over two hours to complete, as the teams combined for 61 fouls and 78 free throw attempts. West Chester had three players foul out, and two more finished the contest with four fouls. ESU ended the night 36 for 48 (75.0 percent) from the charity stripe.

The Golden Rams led for over 34 minutes, with the margin between six and 10 points for a majority of the night. The Warriors began to chip away with under nine minutes to play, and a pair of free throws by freshman Ish Horn capped a 10-0 run which tied the score at 69-69 with 7:38 remaining. That would be the first of four ties during the conclusion of the second half.

West Chester entered the night leading Division II in rebounding (45.1 per game) and ranking second in rebounding margin (+11.4), but ESU held its own inside, as the visitors finished with a slim 39-35 edge on the glass. Williams and Smith combined for 21 rebounds, and each had five boards on the offensive end.

The Warriors look to get back on track Saturday afternoon, when they travel to Kutztown (11-8, 5-6 PSAC) for a PSAC East matchup beginning at 3 p.m.