KUTZTOWN, Pa. - The Kutztown University men's basketball team returns from a 20-day lay off to host the University of Sciences in non-conference men's basketball action on Friday, December 30 at 8:00 PM.
The Golden Bears will look to get back to .500 on the season, entering the contest at 4-5 overall after splitting Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Crossover contests with Indiana (Pa.) and California (Pa.) on December 9-10. The Devils, meanwhile, are returning from an 11-day lay off and have lost five in a row to fall to 1-7.
Nate Edwards (Philadelphia, PA/North Catholic) (Philadelphia, Pa./North Catholic) led KU with back-to-back 25-point efforts against IUP and Cal and sits just 27 points away from 1,000 in his career. He and
Devon McBride (Richmond, VA/Hill School) (Richmond, Va./Hill School) give Kutztown a formidable 1-2 scoring punch. McBride, who had a string of five straight games with at least 20 points earlier this year, leads the team at 18.8 points/game, just 0.2 higher than Edwards. The duo rank fifth and sixth in the PSAC in scoring and combine for more points than any set of teammates in the league.
Both players are shooting over 86 percent from the free throw line, helping the Golden Bears to a Division II leading mark of 79.7 percent. Their combined 37 ppg has also fueled an offense that ranks third in the conference at 80.8 ppg.
Good ball control has also helped Kutztown score points as the Golden Bears are +2.89 in turnover margin, the second best mark in the PSAC.
Newcomer
Micah Fraction (Macungie, PA/Montrose Christian) (Macungie, Pa./Montrose Christian) pours in 14.3 ppg to give KU three players among the conference's top 20 scorers. He also leads the team in assists, averaging over four per contest.
Eric Brennan (Chester, PA/West Catholic) (Chester, Pa./West Catholic) averages 13.9 ppg and leads the team in rebounding at 8.0 per contest. His four double-doubles on the year are tied for 18th in Division II.
Tyler Brooks (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone) (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone) rounds out the starting five and leads the team in field goal percentage (.648) and blocked shots (10).
While Kutztown has pushed the tempo this year, Sciences has played at a slower pace, typically keeping the scores in the 60s.
Garret Kerr leads the Devils in scoring at 11.6 ppg on 56 percent shooting and nearly averages a double-double with 9.8 boards per game. Over the last three games, which include his first two starts of the season, he has averaged over 21 points and 14 rebounds per game. William Kernan has missed the last two contests, but ranks second on the team in scoring at 10.8 ppg and dishes out a team-high 3.3 assists/game.
Myer Messinger is the third player on the Sciences' roster scoring in double digits at 10.6 ppg. Patrick Connaghan adds 9.5 ppg and 7.5 rpg, while shooting 56 percent from the field. Tyrone Mann-Barnes nets 8.9 ppg and Henry Messinger rounds out the starting five with 7.2 ppg.
No other player on USP's roster averages more than 2.2 ppg. Shooting has been an issue, as the team hits just under 41 percent from the floor and 24 percent beyond the arc as a unit.
Kutztown will be look to avenge an 89-76 loss to the Devils a year ago. Edwards had 27 points in the game, including six three pointers. Kernan went 12-of-14 from the foul line for Sciences and was one of two players to score 20 points in the win.
The game also wraps up non-conference action for the Golden Bears in 2011-12, as they return to PSAC action when they travel to Edinboro and Lock Haven on January 6 and 7, respectively.
