KUTZTOWN, PA (February 8, 2010) – The Kutztown University men's basketball team hopes the unexpected week off will be the perfect tonic for its recent struggles. The Golden Bears have dropped their last two Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division contests to Bloomsburg and Cheyney.

Now, with Mansfield University invading Keystone Arena Thursday night for an 8:00 p.m. tip-off, the Golden Bears begin the second half of the conference schedule looking to regain their winning formula and make a move up the PSAC standings. With Saturday's scheduled game at East Stroudsburg postponed to Monday, this is a key week for Kutztown, which sits in fourth place behind ESU, Cheyney and Mansfield.

Mansfield handed Kutztown its first defeat of the season, 94-87, at Decker Gym on Jan. 20. The Mountaineers scored the final nine points of the contest to knock off then-No. 2 ranked Kutztown. In that meeting, the tandem of Yusef Carr and Ryan Callahan combined for 51 points. They were 29-for-33 from the foul line. The first game featured 19 lead changes and 14 ties.

However, since that victory, Mansfield has dropped three of its last five games, including Saturday's surprising 71-63 home defeat to Shippensburg. In that contest, Derrison Anthony scored a game-high 18 points. Carr finished with six points. Shippensburg outrebounded Mansfield, 44-35.

Overall, Carr leads a balanced Mansfield attack by averaging 16.8 points per game and 8.8 rebounds per outing. Callahan chips in with a 14.6 point per game average. The other double digit scorers for the Mountaineers are Tony Fannick (11.5), Anthony (10.5) and Chris Pender (10.4).

In its last outing, Kutztown suffered its first home defeat since March 2008 when it lost to Cheyney, 94-62. Senior guard and Division II national player of the year candidate Stephen Dennis led KU with 18 points and junior center Ryan Washington added 16 points against the Wolves. Dennis scored 36 points in the first matchup against Mansfield.

Dennis, who was featured in Feb. 8 issue of Sports Illustrated, has 2,125 career points, which is fifth all-time in PSAC history. He leads the conference in scoring (26.8). Washington is third in the conference in scoring (19.7). Dennis and Washington is still the highest scoring tandem in Division II. Julius Gray leads Kutztown with 45 made 3-pointers.

Following this week's home games, the Kutztown men begin an arduous four-game road trip at East Stroudsburg, West Chester, Shippensburg and Cheyney. However, how the Golden Bears protect their home court will determine how much those four road games mean. For now, Kutztown will start with a win against anybody to escape the doldrums of a rare two-game losing streak.

--KU--