KUTZTOWN, PA. (January 11, 2010) – Keystone Arena on the campus of Kutztown University will be the place to be on Wednesday, January 13 as the two remaining unbeaten teams in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) begin the Eastern Division schedule against each other.

Kutztown (12-0 overall) begins defense of its PSAC East title against East Stroudsburg (13-0) beginning at 8 p.m. For fans that will not be able to make it out to Keystone Arena for the game, they will be able to listen to all of the action live on the Golden Bear Network at www.kubears.com.

Kutztown, the PSAC East preseason favorite, is ranked sixth in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches/Division II Top 25 poll. East Stroudsburg received votes in last week's poll. Kutztown could move up in the poll as fourth-ranked Indiana (Pa.) lost in double overtime at Cheyney Sunday afternoon. ESU could also crack the national rankings. The new NABC/Division II Top 25 poll will be released Tuesday afternoon.

The Golden Bears are off to the best start in more than 90 years. Meanwhile, the Warriors are off to their best start in school history. Both teams swept their PSAC crossover contests on the road against Edinboro and Lock Haven over the weekend to set up the showdown. East Stroudsburg defeated Kutztown, 77-73, in the PSAC East opener last year at ESU. It was Kutztown's only defeat during the conference season last year.

Kutztown has won 13 consecutive regular season PSAC East contests and 22 straight home games.  Included in those streaks was a 93-70 victory over East Stroudsburg in February. The matchup features the two top scoring offenses in the PSAC. Kutztown leads the conference in scoring (85.7 points per game) followed by ESU (84.5). The Warriors also lead the PSAC in scoring defense (60.9). Kutztown leads the PSAC in field goal percentage (51.9) while East Stroudsburg is the conference leader in field goal percentage defense (38.3).

The Golden Bears have been paced this season by the nation's highest scoring duo of senior guard and Division II national player of the year candidate Stephen Dennis and junior forward Ryan Washington. 

The pair is one-two, respectively, in scoring of the PSAC. They are the only tandem from the same school among the nation's top 10 in scoring. Dennis, fifth in Division II in scoring, is averaging 24.5 points per game and has scored 1,883 career points. Washington, ninth, is averaging 22.7 points and 10.3 rebounds.

They have scored 20 or more points in the same game seven times this season. In a 96-88 victory over Edinboro, they each had double doubles: Dennis scored 29 points and grabbed 15 rebounds while Washington finished with 27 points and 13 rebounds.

Also, for Kutztown, junior guard Julius Gray averages 16 points per game. He scored a career-high 24 points in the victory over Edinboro. Gray leads Kutztown with 36 3-pointers. He made four foul shots in the final 30 seconds to seal a 71-66 victory over Lock Haven Sunday afternoon.

Meanwhile, East Stroudsburg has used its balance and depth to race to its best start in school history. Andy Heimbach is the only Warrior averaging double figures at 14.3 points per game. The Warriors have seven players averaging eight or more points: Mike Tobin (8.9), Duane Johnson (8.8), Robby Pines (8.7), Terrance King (8.5), Micah Covert (8.2) and Mike DeMarco (8.1). East Stroudsburg has scored 90 or more points six times this season.

--KU--