KUTZTOWN, PA (March 6, 2010) – The battle for the 2010 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) men's basketball championship features Kutztown University and fifth-ranked Indiana University of Pennsylvania, teams that were tabbed as the preseason favorites in their respective divisions, Saturday night at East Stroudsburg's Koehler Fieldhouse beginning at 7 p.m.
The Golden Bears (23-6 overall) punched their second consecutive ticket to the PSAC title game by edging Clarion, 85-79. Meanwhile, IUP (27-2) advanced to its first title game since 2004 by defeating East Stroudsburg, 67-63. Tickets for the championship game are $8. However, fans who attended the semifinals can use their ticket stub to gain entry into the game.
The winner earns the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II tournament. The NCAA selections and pairings will be announced Sunday night at 9:30 p.m. on ncaasports.com. The loser of this game is expected to be invited to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.
IUP defeated Kutztown in the 2004 title game. The Golden Bears are seeking their first PSAC championship. They are 0-3 in championship games falling in 1988 to California, 2004 to IUP and last year to Gannon. IUP will be looking to win their sixth conference championship. The Crimson Hawks won the crown in 1974, 1975, 2000, 2002 and 2004.
The Crimson Hawks enter the championship game riding a nine-game winning streak. The Golden Bears have won three in a row. However, Kutztown has won the last four meetings against Indiana, including a 92-86 triumph, in last year's NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional semifinal contest. Overall, Kutztown is 5-12 all-time against IUP.
This game features the two front runners for the PSAC East and West Player of the Year awards, respectively, in Kutztown senior guard and Division II national player of the year candidate Stephen Dennis and Darryl Webb. Dennis leads Division II in scoring (26.7) and he is second in the PSAC in assists and fourth in steals. Dennis has scored 2,364 career points and in double figures in 44 consecutive games. Webb averages 15.4 points and 10 rebounds per contest.
“We're excited to be in the championship game two years in a row,” Dennis said. “I feel like we still have some unfinished business from last year so we're definitely focused this year on trying to win. We know we have to put that extra fight to win.”
The Golden Bears have been hardened and strengthened by tough games and difficult defeats. Yet, through it all, Kutztown has shown the heart of a champion and thrived in the face of adversity. As it turned out the PSAC East proved to be much tougher than people expected at the start of the season.
Kutztown, the two-time champion entering the season, took everybody's best shot. Even though they were knocked down a few teams, the Golden Bears continued tinkering with some things and now the lessons are beginning to pay off. Kutztown lost three of its last four regular season games, but now the Golden Bears are playing their best basketball at the most important time of the season.
“I don't look at our three losses at the end of the season as a negative,” Kutztown coach Bernie Driscoll said. “Our guys learned a lot during those games, which they have applied to this week's games. We didn't lose to bad teams. I mean you have to give Cheyney, Shippensburg and West Chester credit because they're all good teams and they played well. Even with that, we put ourselves in a position to make the playoffs.”
The Golden Bears earned the fourth seed from the East. Normally, when a No. 4 seed advances to a championship and win two postseason games, it's big news, but Kutztown was no ordinary No. 4 seed entering the playoffs. The Golden Bears were a confident bunch with one of the most talented rosters in the conference and capable of winning anywhere, anytime and against anybody.
In their two playoff victories this week, Kutztown remained poised and used the same formula. The Golden Bears used an early run to open a double-digit first half lead. Then a team made a serious run at them and cut the deficit to one or two points. Finally, Kutztown sealed the game with key shots or big defensive stops.
Kutztown raced to a 14-point first half lead at Mansfield only to have the Mountaineers close to within two points on a couple of occasions in the second half. Against Clarion, the Golden Bears constructed a 17-point second half lead before watching their lead shrink to one point on three occasions and two points six times in the final eight minutes. The Golden Bears have not trailed in the second half of any playoff game this year. Kutztown has won four of five playoff games in the last two years.
In its semifinal victory over Clarion, the Golden Bears placed four players in double figures highlighted by junior guard Julius Gray's 22 points. Gray is averaging 23 points in two PSAC playoff games. He is beginning to find his shooting stroke. This was the first time Gray scored 20 points in consecutive games since he started the season by scoring 21 and 22 points against Wilmington and PSU-Berks, respectively. Gray has topped the 20-point mark in three of Kutztown's last five games.
“I think I was settling for shooting the 3-pointer a lot,” Gray said. “I kind of adjusted my game and started attacking the basket more. That has helped me get better looks. Again, my teammates have always had confidence in me even when I wasn't shooting the ball the way I am used to.”
Also reaching double digits for the Golden Bears was Dennis, who finished with 19 points and eight rebounds, freshman forward Jon DeShields, who added a career-high 13 points and junior center Ryan Washington (Philadelphia, PA/Wissahickon), who collected his 17th double-double of the season with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Kutztown also received nine points and seven rebounds from Tamir Johnson. In two games at ESU this season, DeShields has averaged 12.5 points. Another effort like that will go a long way toward helping the Golden Bears bring the championship trophy back to Berks County.
Getting by the Crimson Hawks won't be easy. Ranked fifth in the latest NABC/Division II Top 25 poll, IUP's only defeats this season was to Cheyney, 88-84, in double overtime and Clarion, 81-72. Thomas Young is IUP's top scorer, averaging 16.4 points per contest. Young made a pair of foul shots with 43 seconds remaining to give IUP the lead for good against East Stroudsburg. Young scored 23 and added five assists while Ashton Smith finished with 17 points and Darryl Webb had a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds to go along with three steals and two blocked shots.
Akida McClain, the Atlantic Coast Conference rookie of the year while at Boston College, suffered a broken bone in his right wrist in the quarterfinal win over Gannon on Tuesday and may not play against Kutztown. McClain was averaging 15.3 points and 7.8 rebounds. Julian Sanders averages 10 points for the Crimson Hawks.
“Winning the PSAC championship was one of our goals at the start of the season,” Driscoll said. “We're going to play a tough team in the finals on Saturday and we have to find a way to play a complete game and be ready to play. It should be exciting and I know our players are looking forward to the opportunity to bring a championship to Kutztown.”
--KU--
