Asparagus hits clutch free throws as West Chester Rustin edges Chester

WESTTOWN >> Four years ago, West Chester Rustin coach Keith Cochran started a pair of freshmen, Jake Nelson and Taj Asparagus. The Golden Knights took their lumps, but anyone who knew basketball could see the potential in the pair.

Tuesday night at Rustin, the pair proved it has fully grown up. Asparagus hit two free throws with 4.7 seconds left in the fourth quarter to give the Golden Knights a thrilling 66-64 nonleague win over the always tough Chester Clippers.

Nelson led all scorers with 28 points and hauled in 13 rebounds, while Asparagus added 19 points and eight boards.

Rahmaad Dejarnette led Chester with 27 points on the night, and Akeem Taylor added 14 for the Clippers (0-2).

Exciting Golden Knights freshman Ivy Pettit added 17 more for Rustin.

“They really have come along way as a pair and it was good to see them both have big games together,” said Rustin coach Keith Cochran. “We knew how tough Chester is. They are tough at the beginning of the year, the middle of the year or at the end, so it was a nice win for us. We need Jake and Taj to lead us on and off the court.”

Chester started the game like it was going to blow the Golden Knights right out of their own gym, opening up a 10-0 lead after just three minutes of play. But, Rustin found its legs and the Golden Knights started running their offense and getting good looks down low for Nelson. That opened up the lanes and Rustin started hitting cutters going to the hoop. At halftime it was a 33-30 Chester lead, but it was anybody’s game.

“It was real intense out there,” Asparagus said. “We did not get down when they took the 10-0 lead. We just needed to run our offense and clean some things up and we did that right after the start of the game.”

The two teams battled tooth and nail for every loose ball right from the outset and the play was frantic at times. Chester turned the ball over 11 times on the night, three times in the critical fourth quarter, which led to two Golden Knights (2-1) runouts, which perturbed Clippers coach Keith Taylor.

“I mean we turned the ball over at crucial times,” Taylor said. “And we were winning, so we should have just pulled the ball out and let them chase us. We jumped out on them just like we did last year, but they stayed patient, started running their offense and they hit some big shots which they are known for.”

With neither team pushing its lead to more than three points for the entire second half, the game was very intense and every play was critical. Asparagus hit one of two free throws for a 64-62 Rustin lead, but Chester came right down the floor and point guard Michael Smith hit Karell Watkins under the basket. Watkins missed, but put in his follow to tie the game at 64 with 38 seconds to play.

Rustin turned the ball over to the Clippers, but Chester gave the ball right back with a turnover of its own, and Bryce Pew hit a driving Asparagus on the left wing with a nice pass. Asparagus was fouled and he hit both clutch free throws, as the Golden Knights posted a very impressive early win over a very tough opponent.

“We really battled out there tonight,” Nelson said. “And every play was contested, but we just stayed patient and ran our offense and came away with the win.”

Notes >> Chester shot 24 for 52 from the field and West Chester Rustin shot 23 for 47 from the field. Chester turned the ball over 11 times while West Chester Rustin committed 16 miscues.

West Chester Rustin 66, Chester 64

Chester 19 14 17 14 – 64
W.C. Rustin 16 14 20 16 – 66

CHESTER (64): Smith 2 3-4 8, Gilbert 2 3-3 7, Taylor 5 4-6 14, DeJarnette 11 3-4 27, Carroll 1 0-0 2, Watkins 3 0-0 6, Burton 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 13-17 64

W.C. RUSTIN (66): Nelson 9 9-10 28, Wethey 1 0-0 2, Pettit 6 4-5 17, Asparagus 7 5-6 19, DeMarco 0 0-0 0, Pew 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 18-21 66.

3-point goals: DeJarnette 2, Smith, Pettit, Nelson.