KUTZTOWN, PA (January 13, 2010) – Kutztown University senior guard and Division II national player of the year candidate Stephen Dennis unleashed an assault on the rim that had to be seen to be believed.
By the time the 6 foot, 6 inch Dennis finished his relentless and ruthless attack, he had scored a career-high 42 points in leading third-ranked Kutztown to an 87-84 victory over 24th-ranked East Stroudsburg in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division pulse-pounder Wednesday night at Keystone Arena.
Kutztown (13-0 overall, 1-0 PSAC East) is the only unbeaten team in the PSAC and one of eight remaining Division II teams without a defeat this season.
Dennis, the reigning PSAC East Player of the Week and nation's fourth leading scorer, made 13-of-20 shots from the field and 16-of-19 from the foul line to lead unbeaten Kutztown to its 23rd consecutive home victory and 14th straight conference victory.
Dennis tied his school record for made free throws in a single game. He also made 16 in a victory over University of the Sciences on Dec. 5. This is the fourth time Dennis has scored 30 or more points in a game this season. Dennis has now scored 1,925 points. He is 92 points away from tying Dave Ben's school scoring record of 2,017 points.
Dennis had plenty of help. Junior guard Julius Gray scored 19 points and made all three of his 3-point shot attempts. Junior forward Tamir Johnson scored 11 points and pulled down nine rebounds. Junior center Ryan Washington pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds. All of those efforts were needed as Kutztown continued its best start to a season in more than 90 years.
East Stroudsburg (13-1, 0-1) placed five players in double figures with Mike Tobin scoring 16 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Andy Heimbach scored 14 points. Terrance King finished with 12 points and five blocked shots. Robby Pines added 11 points and handed out nine assists. Eric Bryan contributed 10 points.
Kutztown made 53.4 percent of its shots against the PSAC's leading field goal defensive team. It was the 10th time this season, the Golden Bears made at least 50 percent of their shots in a game. ESU came into the game, leading the PSAC in scoring defense at 60.3 points per game.
The game lived up to the hype and then some. With flashbulbs twinkling from photographers cameras, Kutztown and East Stroudsburg treated the large crowd to an outstanding display of breathtaking basketball in battling one another like heavyweight fighters in their prime.
“This was a great Division II basketball game between two really good teams,” Kutztown coach Bernie Driscoll said. “The fans, I am sure, received their money's worth tonight. We were fortunate to make a few more baskets than ESU. I also thought we showed a lot of resiliency in pulling this one out.”
The difference in this game was Dennis' scintillating performance. Quite simply, he was awesome. In surpassing his previous career-high of 32 points set in last year's PSAC semifinals against Slippery Rock, Dennis made deep jump shots early, attacked the basket for layups in the middle and converted several foul shots late. Dennis was an equal opportunity scorer for the Golden Bears as he scored 19 points in the opening half and 23 after intermission.
“I knew this was a big game so I just wanted to do whatever I could do to help us win,” Dennis said. “I wasn't worried about scoring. The points just kind of happened. I am happy we were able to beat a tough team like East Stroudsburg. I thought we met the challenge this evening.”
In a game featuring more drama and suspense than an episode of 24, the teams combined for seven ties and nine lead changes. During a 10-minute stretch of the second half, neither team led by more than three points. Dennis gave Kutztown the lead for good, 62-59, when he converted a 3-point play with a layup that kissed softly off the glass and dropped in the basket along with the ensuing foul shot.
Dennis had a stretch in the second half where he scored nine consecutive Kutztown points.
When Dennis finished scoring, he found his teammates. Three of Dennis' four assists came in the final eight minutes.
After giving KU a 62-59 lead, Dennis found Ivory Wells, who sank a 3-pointer and gave the Golden Bears (to that point) their largest lead of the game, 65-59, with seven minutes, 59 seconds remaining. Kutztown eventually expanded its advantage to 77-67, with 5:36 remaining following a Gray 3-pointer on a Dennis assist.
Although East Stroudsburg was temporally shaken by the Golden Bears' burst, the Warriors displayed why they were unbeaten coming into the game. Pines made a 3-pointer with 25 seconds remaining to pull ESU to within, 85-82. However, Dennis made two foul shots to seal the victory.
East Stroudsburg constructed a pair of seven point leads in the opening half. Kutztown's largest lead in the first half was three points. Dennis made his first five jump shots of the game. His effort helped Kutztown grab a 41-40 halftime lead.
Both teams continue their conference schedules Saturday afternoon. Kutztown travels to Millersville and East Stroudsburg hosts Shippensburg. Both games begin at 3 p.m.
--KU--
