EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. — In a game that featured 23 lead changes and 12 ties, East Stroudsburg outlasted Kutztown, 77-73, in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division opener Wednesday at Koehler Fieldhouse.
Chris Bach scored 23 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead East Stroudsburg. His putback of a missed jumper with 16 seconds left beat an expiring shot clock and broke a 73-73 deadlock.
KU's Stephen Dennis (West Chester, PA/Henderson) (jr. West Chester/Henderson) missed a jumper with six seconds left and Mike DeMarco hit two free throws with two seconds remaining to seal the victory for the Warriors.
Dave Ben (sr. Coatesville/Coatesville) scored 24 points to lead KU (11-3, 0-1). Dennis added 14 and Andre Woodlin (sr. Philadelphia/Central) netted 11. Ryan Washington (Philadelphia, PA/Wissahickon) (so. Philadelphia/Wissahickon) led all players with 17 rebounds and had five blocks.
Andy Heimbach was the only other player in double figures for the Warriors (10-4, 1-0). Bach led ESU with 15 rebounds.
KU led 38-37 at halftime, after scoring the final eight points of the first half. Ben's 3-pointer and a layup at the buzzer gave KU the lead at the break.
The Golden Bears pickup up where they left off to start the second half, building a 48-39 lead less than three minutes into the half. Woodlin and Ben hit consecutive 3-pointers to cap the run.
East Stroudsburg stormed back to tie the score at 52, setting off a see-saw battle over the game's final 12 minutes. Neither team led by more than four points the rest of the way.
KU went on a 6-0 run, taking a 71-69 lead with 2:08 to play on two Dennis free throws. Heimbach tied it with a junior, then gave East Stroudsburg the lead with 1:25 left on a layup.
Ben's jumper made it 73-all with 58 seconds to play.
On East Stroudsburg's next possession, Mike Tobin's layup missed the rim and KU seemed to have forced a shot clock violation, but Bach put back the rebound for the 75-73 lead for the game's final lead change.
KU returns to action on Saturday night, when it hosts Millersville at Keystone Hall. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.
