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juliusgray
Tony Vasquez

Men's Basketball

Balanced Kutztown beats Wilmington in season opener

KUTZTOWN, PA. (November 18, 2009) – The Kutztown University men's basketball team began its 2009-10 season and extended its home court winning streak to 16 games with a 95-61 victory over Wilmington University at Keystone Arena Wednesday night. (BOXSCORE)

Kutztown (1-0 overall) is ranked 16th in the National Association of Basketball Coaches' (NABC) and Division II Bulletin preseason Top 25 polls. The Golden Bears scored the first 16 points of the game, the final eight points of the first half and never trailed in improving their career mark against the Wildcats to 8-1 all-time.

Junior guard Julius Gray (Lincoln University, PA/Oxford Area High School) (Lincoln University, PA/Oxford) and junior forward Ryan Washington (Philadelphia, PA/Wissahickon) (Philadelphia/Wissahickon) led five players in double figures with 21 points each. Gray's point total was a career high, surpassing the 16 points he scored against Mansfield last year. Gray led a terrific Kutztown shooting performance by making 9-of-12 baskets, including 3-of-5 from 3-point distance.

Senior guard and Division II Player of the Year candidate Stephen Dennis (West Chester, PA/Henderson) (West Chester/Henderson) finished with 17 points, a career-high 10 assists and eight rebounds. Also reaching double digits for the Golden Bears was sophomore Ryan White (Philadelphia, PA/Franklin Learning Center) (Philadelphia/Franklin Learning Center) and junior forward Tamir Johnson (Philadelphia, PA/Imhotep Charter) (Philadelphia/Imhotep Charter). White finished with 11 points and six rebounds and Johnson chipped in with 10 points.

In electrifying a large crowd excited for an encore performance after last year's memorable and school record 28-win season, the Golden Bears did not disappointment. Kutztown threw down four dunks, Dennis dropped more dimes than a bank teller especially in the first half when KU took control and Gray brought the crowd to its feet with an awesome did-you-see-that move in which he crossed over a Wilmington defender, brought the ball behind his back and made a short floater in the lane.

Gray scored 19 of his 21 points in the first half as Kutztown roared to a 48-29 halftime lead. He made 8-of-10 shots including consecutive 3-pointers off of Dennis assists 16 seconds apart in the first half. By the time Gray finished his scoring barrage, Kutztown had extended its 26-13 lead to a 32-13 bulge with 9 minutes, 16 seconds remaining in the opening half.

During one first half sequence, Dennis had four assists on four consecutive Kutztown baskets. While Gray and Dennis were enjoying a good time, Washington quietly played a strong all-around game. In addition to his points, Washington grabbed seven rebounds, handed out four assists and blocked three shots. Washington was 10-for-14 shooting from the field.

As a team, Kutztown made 58.8 percent of its shots (40-for-68) and finished with 27 assists on its 40 baskets. The Golden Bears also was 8-for-16 from 3-point distance.

Wilmington made one serious threat to Kutztown's advantage late in the first half when it sliced its deficit from 34-13 to 40-29 with 2:55 remaining following a pair of Blake Rubenstein foul shots. The game belonged to the Golden Bears after that. Washington scored six of Kutztown's final eight points in the first half to quell any thoughts of a Wilmington rally. During the second half, Kutztown's advantage peaked at 39 points on two different occasions.

Brandon Savage paced Wilmington (0-2) with 12 points and seven rebounds. Vernon Dupree added eight points for the Wildcats.

Kutztown returns to action on Monday, November 30 when it hosts Penn State-Berks County beginning at 8 p.m. Wilmington will host West Chester on Saturday, November 21 in its next game beginning at 1 p.m.

--KU--

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