BLOOMSBURG, Pa. (February 12, 2011) – The Kutztown University men's basketball team has company at the top of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division standings following its 92-88 setback to Bloomsburg University Saturday afternoon at Nelson Field House. (BOXSCORE)
Kutztown (14-8 overall, 7-3 PSAC) and Mansfield (15-7, 7-3) lead Bloomsburg (10-12, 6-4) by a game in the race for the regular season crown. Furthermore, Cheyney (15-7, 5-5) and East Stroudsburg (12-10, 5-5) are two games behind the Golden Bears and Mountaineers. Yep, things are pretty congested with four games remaining for everybody.
It should be an interesting two weeks as five teams battle for four playoff spots. Overall, Bloomsburg and Kutztown treated the afternoon crowd to 20 ties and 11 lead changes.
Devon McBride (Richmond, VA/Hill School) did all he could to help the Golden Bears maintain their one-game lead by finishing with a career-high 29 points. McBride was 11-for-17 from the field and 4-for-4 from 3-point distance in 23 electrifying minutes off the bench. Tamir Johnson (Philadelphia, PA/Imhotep Charter) posted his sixth double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Nate Edwards (Philadelphia, PA/North Catholic) finished with 12 points and made a pair of foul shots with 26 seconds remaining that brought Kutztown to within, 86-85.
Meanwhile, the Huskies had four players finish in double figures as they scored 90 or more points for the third straight game. Doing much of the damage was Lorenzo Christmas, who was a scrooge with 30 points on scintillating 10-for-13 shooting from the field and 6-for-9 from 3-point distance. Christmas was an equal opportunity scorer as he finished with 15 points in both halves.
Christmas had plenty of help as Larry Webster scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Dontahe Jordan scored 18 points, grabbed seven rebounds, blocked three shots and recorded five steals. Jesse Betar added 10 points for Bloomsburg, which won its second straight contest and fourth in its last five.
Kutztown had rallied from a 71-63 deficit to grab a 76-75 lead with 3 minutes, 40 seconds remaining following a pair of Edwards' foul shots. Bloomsburg grabbed the lead back quickly when Webster converted an and-one on the Huskies' ensuing possession. McBride forged the final tie of the contest, 78-78, with a layup with 3:00 remaining.
The Huskies controlled the final three minutes to earn the season split with Kutztown. Christmas buried a 3-pointer and Jordan dunked to give BU an 83-78 lead with 2:07 left. The Golden Bears got close at 83-81 and 86-85. It wasn't meant to be for Kutztown.
It looked like Kutztown had gained control of the contest late in the first half. The Golden Bears ripped off nine straight points to open their largest lead, 40-35, of the contest with 56 seconds remaining. However, the Huskies finished the half by scoring five of the final seven points to head into intermission down, 42-40.
Kutztown returns to action Wednesday night when it hosts Cheyney University in a critical PSAC East matchup. Bloomsburg hosts Mansfield Wednesday. Both games start at 8 p.m.
--KU--
