KUTZTOWN, PA (February 19, 2010) – The first 24 games produced memorable moments plenty of highlights and delicious drama. During its sterling start to the season in which it won its first 15 games, the Kutztown University men's basketball team placed itself in a good position to three-peat as Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division champions.
Even though the Golden Bears (20-4 overall, 7-4 PSAC East) are ranked 16th in the latest NABC/Division II Top 25 poll and sixth in the NCAA Atlantic Region poll, they find themselves in a Route 222 rush hour-like traffic jam for second place with East Stroudsburg (20-4, 7-4) and Mansfield (16-8, 7-4). All three squads are a game behind first-place Cheyney (15-9, 8-3) in the race for the regular season title and the potential No. 1 seed in the upcoming PSAC playoffs.
Kutztown's season has been reduced to three games beginning with Saturday's visit to Shippensburg at Herges Fieldhouse beginning at 3 p.m.
“That's true,” Kutztown senior guard and Division II national player of the year candidate Stephen Dennis said. “You can't say it anymore perfectly than that. We are where we need to be at this point in the season, but we need to be first.”
Meanwhile, in the northeast part of the state, Cheyney makes the trip up the Northeast Extension to visit East Stroudsburg, which owns a 77-73 decision over the Wolves this year. Mansfield hosts West Chester, who handed the Mountaineers an 89-75 defeat earlier this season at Hollinger. Perhaps, things will become clearer by dinner time.
Herges has been a tough place to play for the Golden Bears, who ended a six-game losing streak at Shippensburg with a 69-68 victory last year. Although Shippensburg is just 5-7 at home, it will be a handful in front of its home crowd.
Kutztown closes its season against a pair of teams that handed it defeats: on the road at Cheyney (Wednesday Feb. 24, 8 p.m.) and at home against Bloomsburg (Saturday Feb. 27, 1 p.m.). Win all three and the Golden Bears should be able to order another set of championship T-shirts.
“We just need to play with intensity and a little more heart,” Dennis said. “At this point in the season, there is nothing to hold back for so we just have to play hard and believe in each other.”
The last time Dennis saw Shippensburg, he became KU's all-time leading scorer after he dropped 33 points in the 82-67 victory on Jan. 23. Dennis hasn't stopped scoring either. He has scored 2,247 points, which is fourth on the all-time Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference scoring list. With 15 points, he will pass former Millersville standout Phil Walker and move into third place on the all-time PSAC scoring chart.
Dennis, who was named the Lehigh Valley Small College Basketball Player of the Year Thursday afternoon, leads Division II in scoring (27.2 points per game). He has scored 27 points in each of his last two outings against East Stroudsburg and West Chester.
Both teams enter the game coming off of losses in their last outings. Kutztown lost at West Chester, 75-68, and Shippensburg dropped an 82-68 decision to red-hot Bloomsburg.
In the loss against West Chester, junior center Ryan Washington recorded his 14th double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds. Washington is averaging 18.8 points per game. He has 1,090 career points. Junior guard Julius Gray added 15 points against the Golden Rams. It was the 17th time this season he has reached double digits. However, in the first game against Shippensburg, Gray did not score.
In addition to Dennis' scoring spree against Shippensburg in the first contest, junior forward Tamir Johnson finished with 20 points and a career-high 18 rebounds. Kutztown scored 44 points and made 15-of-25 shots after intermission in winning the first time around.
In the defeat at Bloomsburg, sophomore guard Jordan Stasyszyn led the Red Raiders in scoring for the second straight game with 11 points off the bench. Redshirt sophomore forward Will Royal was the other Red Raider in double figures with 10 points. Senior guard Brian Oleksiak had nine points and six rebounds while sophomore guard Craig Van Scyoc also had nine points but missed double digits for the first time in nine games.
Daziah Miller leads Shippensburg in scoring (11.1 points per game). Royal chips in 10.7 points per outing. Lamar Jackson led three Shippensburg players in double figures with 14 points. Craig Van Scyoc added 13 points and eight rebounds.
“We know that Shippensburg has been playing everybody tough lately,” Dennis said. “We need to be ready especially if we want to accomplish our goal of winning the PSAC.”
--KU--
