PIKE CREEK, Del. (January 5, 2010) – Division II National Player of the Year candidate and senior guard Stephen Dennis drilled a jumper with 1.8 seconds remaining to lift the sixth-ranked Kutztown University men's basketball team to a thrilling, 76-74, victory over Goldey-Beacom College at the Joseph W. Jones Center Tuesday night.
Following a GBC timeout, Dennis stole the inbounds pass to help Kutztown (10-0 overall) remain perfect and continue its best start to a men's basketball season in more than 90 years. Goldey-Beacom, which tied the game twice in the final 90 seconds, had its six-game winning streak snapped as its record fell to 8-3 overall.
Earlier in the afternoon, Kutztown climbed to sixth in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches/Division II Top 25 poll. The Golden Bears are one of eight remaining undefeated Division II schools in the country.
“I saw that there was 12 seconds left and I wanted to take my man to the basket,” said Dennis, who upped his career point total to 1,828 points. “So I called for my screen, but (GBC) jumped the screen and then they jumped my dribble so I had to spin back and shoot a fade-away jumper. I was just glad that I was able to lead when my team needed me most.”
Dennis finished with 22 points, which led four Kutztown players in double figures. Junior guard Julius Gray scored 14 points. Dennis and Gray each had five assists for the Golden Bears.
Junior forward Tamir Johnson and junior center Ryan Washington each finished with double-doubles. Johnson scored a season-high 17 points and corralled eight of his 10 rebounds in the second half. Washington recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Goldey-Beacom's tandem of Terrence Parkes and Kyle White combined for 49 points. Parkes scored a game-high 25 points and pulled 10 rebounds. White scored 24 points and his basket with 14 seconds remaining tied the game at 72-72 and set the stage for Dennis' shot.
In a game that kept fans on the edge of its seats, both the Lightning and Golden Bears put on a high-definition display of hoops that featured numerous highlight-reel dunks, fast-paced action and a tense finish.
“It was good that we faced some adversity tonight,” Dennis said. “We needed a close game to see how we would react and execute under pressure. I think we did a good job of that. A game like this is only going to make us stronger as we get into our conference.”
The Golden Bears adjusted to the minor inconvenience of trailing at intermission for the first time this season by beginning the second half with a monster run to get back into the game. Goldey-Beacom constructed a 41-33 halftime lead, but a more determined Golden Bear squad hit the court in the second half and briefly grabbed control.
Switching to a zone defense, Kutztown blitzed the Lightning, 15-2, over the first five minutes of the second half. When Gray drilled a 3-pointer from in the corner in front of the KU bench with 15 minutes, 46 seconds remaining, the Golden Bears led for the first time in the game, 44-43. The lead expanded to 52-45 after Dennis completed a dunk off of an alley-oop feed from Washington that shook the gym to its core.
The Lightning quickly struck back with a 12-5 run to knot the score at 57-57 with 9:04 remaining. Goldey-Beacom took its last lead of the game, 66-63 with 6:21 remaining following a Parkes' 3-pointer. Kutztown recovered and opened a late four-point edge after a wild sequence of events that featured tipped passes, fallen sweaty bodies on the brown hardwood floor and several sets of arms trying to grab control of a loose orange ball finished in Kutztown's favor.
The madness started when Washington blocked a shot. As Washington was furiously dribbling up the court, a Lightning defender poked the ball from him. As the ball eluded several players, a GBC player finally controlled the ball. He fired a long outlet pass that was intercepted by Gray, who made a beautiful leaping grab of the ball, to thwart a Goldey-Beacom break.
Gray raced up the court with Usain Bolt-like speed and found Washington, who scored and got fouled. He made the ensuing foul shot to stretch Kutztown's lead to 70-66.
Goldey-Beacom rode the strong first half effort of White and Parkes to race to an early 17-6 lead. The Lightning made seven of their first 11 shots of the game. Meanwhile, Kutztown could not find an early groove as it missed six of seven shots after freshman Zach Hankerson made a 3-pointer on KU's first shot attempt. His basket tied the game, 3-3. Hankerson scored all eight of his points in the first half.
Kutztown returns to action Saturday afternoon when it visits Edinboro University in a PSAC crossover contest beginning at 3 p.m. The game can be heard live on the Golden Bear Radio Network.
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