KUTZTOWN, Pa. (January 22, 2011) – The Kutztown University men's basketball team held off a late East Stroudsburg University rally to claim an 85-82 victory and remain perfect in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division Saturday afternoon at Keystone Arena. (BOXSCORE)
Kutztown's victory wasn't secured until Will Brown's desperation heave from about 70 feet clanged off the backboard and rolled off the rim. Think of the end of the Butler-Duke NCAA championship game. That's how close this contest was from heading into overtime.
Four games into conference play and the Golden Bears (11-5 overall, 4-0 PSAC East) have at least a two-game cushion over every team except for Mansfield, who trails KU by one game. Kutztown's formula has been simple: Balance, strong shooting and enough defensive stops.
Nate Edwards (Philadelphia, PA/North Catholic) hit some huge shots in the second half to finish with a team-high 18 points. Steve Coffey (Reading, PA/Wilson) energized the crowd early as he tied his career-high for the second straight game with 17 points. Tamir Johnson (Philadelphia, PA/Imhotep Charter) muscled his way inside for his fourth double-double of the season with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Julius Gray (Lincoln University, PA/Oxford Area) scored nine of his 12 points in the final six minutes. Jermaine Jackson (Blandon, PA/Reading) added 11 points along with a pair of blocked shots.
“It was a good win for us and it's definitely nice to be in first because everybody is looking at us,” Edwards said. “Our balance has definitely been part of our success. Teams can't key on one person. They have to worry about everybody. We have a lot of options and it's definitely fun to be one of many.”
The Warriors (9-7, 2-2) got a career-high 20 points from Micah Covert and 18 points from Will Brown. Terrance King added 11 points for East Stroudsburg, which made 12 3-pointers.
Kutztown is 4-0 in the PSAC East for the first time since the 2007-08 season. The Golden Bears made at least 50 percent of their shots for the third time in four games. The Golden Bears shot a sizzling 53.6 percent for the game. Despite making its first eight baskets of the game and leading by 11 points early in the second half, Kutztown found itself trailing, 67-66, with 6 minutes, 56 seconds remaining.
However, like the Golden Bears did last week in their win over Bloomsburg, they remained poised, made big shots, and defended with passion. Edwards made a pair of foul shots to give KU the lead for good, 68-67, with 6:41 remaining. That started a brief 10-2 surge for the Golden Bears that gave them a 76-69 edge with 4:17 remaining. Edwards had six points during KU's run.
“I was just thinking that we had to do something as a team,” Edwards said. “I wasn't just thinking about scoring. I just wanted to try and make plays for my team. I was fortunate enough to make plays and a couple of shots.”
Of course, ESU did enough to keep fans interested. Each time Kutztown had an answer. Gray sank a huge 3-pointer with 2:12 left that helped KU open a 79-73 lead. The joy was short-lived as Brown responded, cutting the Golden Bears advantage in half. Eric Henry (Harrisburg, PA/Harrisburg) fired back with a deep jumper that gave KU an 81-76 lead with 16 seconds remaining. Covert buried a pair of deep 3-pointers late in the game.
Kutztown trailed once during a frenetic first half in which both teams shot the lights out. The Golden Bears led 44-39 at intermission. The highlight of first half besides Coffey's shooting was Jackson blocking a shot halfway to the Poconos. He came over from the weak side and swatted a shot that traveled some good 10 feet and about 12 rows up into the stands. The Golden Bears led by 10 points on two separate occasions in the opening 20 minutes.
Kutztown will take its perfect conference record on the road to a pair of tough places beginning Wednesday night when it visits Cheyney University beginning at 8 p.m. The Wolves (11-5, 1-3) lost to Bloomsburg, 93-73, at Cope Hall, which will be rocking as usual.
“It feels good right now, but we know we have a lot of season left,” Edwards said. “We're going to take this 4-0 start and be happy with it and keep working hard to get better.”
--KU--
