KUTZTOWN, Pa. (February 1, 2011) – The money month has arrived with the Kutztown University men's basketball team sharing the penthouse suite atop the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division standings with Mansfield University.
February is the time when basketball becomes super serious and the race for playoff positions heat up.
As fate would have it, the Golden Bears (12-6 overall, 5-1 PSAC East) and Mountaineers (13-5, 5-1) collide to conclude the first half of the PSAC East schedule. The prize to the survivor of Wednesday's showdown at Keystone Arena will be sole possession of first place to start the second half. The game starts at 8 p.m. and fans can follow all the action with live stats.
Kutztown had its five-game winning streak ended Monday night with an 86-72 loss at Cheyney. Meanwhile, Mansfield has reeled off five straight wins since opening conference play with a home loss to West Chester. Mansfield beat Cheyney, 78-70, in its last contest on Saturday.
This is a rematch of last season's PSAC quarterfinal contest won by Kutztown, 65-61. Last season, Kutztown took two of three meetings against Mansfield.
The Mountaineers handed the Golden Bears their first defeat of the 2009-10 season, 94-87, at Decker Gym. Kutztown was ranked No. 2 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) top 25 poll at the time. The Golden Bears held serve at home by claiming an 81-69 victory three weeks later. Mansfield finished first in the PSAC East last season along with Cheyney and East Stroudsburg.
“Mansfield is a good team and we have to come ready to play,” Kutztown head men's basketball coach Bernie Driscoll said. “We'll see how we resilient we are as a team. It's definitely a big game and it should be a great atmosphere in our gym.”
The key to the Golden Bears' success through their first six conference contests has been their offensive balance. Four players reached double figures against Cheyney highlighted by Tamir Johnson (Philadelphia, PA/Imhotep Charter)'s 19 points. Johnson was named the PSAC East Player of the Week. Nate Edwards (Philadelphia, PA/North Catholic) scored 16 points, Devon McBride (Richmond, VA/Hill School) contributed 14 points and Eric Brennan (Chester, PA/West Catholic) added 11 points.
Johnson has been the bedrock of the Golden Bears' offense this season. He leads Kutztown in scoring (15.1 ppg.) and rebounding (8.1). He has scored 20 or more points four times and recorded three double-doubles. Edwards has been consistent as he has reached double digits in scoring in four straight contests. He is averaging 11.7 points per game this season.
McBride is beginning to find his groove for Kutztown. The South Carolina State transfer scored 15 points against Millersville and 14 points against Cheyney in his last two games. McBride has supplied plenty of energy in Kutztown's last two contests.
Despite scoring three points total in his last two games, senior guard Julius Gray (Lincoln University, PA/Oxford Area) is Kutztown's second leading scorer, averaging 13.4 points per contest. Brennan is scoring at a 10.8 point per game clip for the Golden Bears.
Meanwhile for Mansfield, Tony Fannick scored 16 of his team-high 19 points in the second half of its win over Cheyney. Yuseff Carr scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Derrison Anthony contributed 10 points. Mansfield, which placed 10 players in double figures, shot just 26.5% (9-34) in the first half but went 17-29 (58.6%) in the second half while out rebounding Cheyney 44-33. The Mountaineers also connected on nine 3-pointers, their most in a game this season.
Carr (14.5 points per game), Anthony (13.5) and Fannick (11.6) are the Mountaineers' top three scorers. Anthony and Carr combined to average 14 rebounds per game. Mansfield hasn't been spooked by foreign facilities this season, compiling a 6-2 record away from Decker Gym. The Mountaineers are ranked ninth in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional rankings.
Mansfield is one of the top defensive teams in the PSAC. It ranks second in blocked shots (4.2 per game); third in field goal percentage defense (40.9) and fourth in scoring defense (67.1 points per game).
Kutztown continues its three game home stand Saturday afternoon when it hosts Shippensburg University. Mansfield continues its three-game road trip Saturday when it travels to West Chester. Both games to kick off the second half of the PSAC East schedule begin at 3 p.m.
--KU--
