KUTZTOWN, Pa. (February 15, 2011) – With four games and two weeks remaining, the Kutztown University men's basketball team has given itself an opportunity to win the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division and make the playoffs for the ninth straight season.
Accomplishing those goals will be strictly up to the Golden Bears, who are currently tied for first place with Mansfield atop the PSAC East. In addition, they are a game ahead Bloomsburg and two games in front of Cheyney and East Stroudsburg. At this point, all eight teams are alive for the four playoff spots.
Kutztown is in a great position because it does not have to scoreboard watch or hope for any teams to lose because it has complete control of its season.
Kutztown (14-8 overall, 7-3 PSAC East) continues its quest for the playoffs when it hosts rejuvenated Cheyney (15-7, 5-5) in a biggie at Keystone Arena Wednesday night beginning at 8 p.m. The Golden Bears will look to halt a three-game skid against Cheyney, which handed KU its first PSAC East loss, 86-72, on Jan. 31.
Since that meeting, Kutztown is 2-3 and Cheyney posted a 4-1 mark. The Wolves enter the game having won two straight including a 78-72 win over Shippensburg Saturday. Cheyney overcame a 15-point deficit to claim its first PSAC East road win of the season. Meanwhile, Kutztown dropped a 92-88 decision at Bloomsburg Saturday.
Against Bloomsburg, Devon McBride (Richmond, VA/Hill School) erupted for a career-high 29 points. Tamir Johnson (Philadelphia, PA/Imhotep Charter) notched his sixth double-double of the year (19 points, 10 rebounds), and Nate Edwards (Philadelphia, PA/North Catholic) contributed 11 points. In its win over Shippensburg, Sharif Bray scored 21 points to lead Cheyney and Bruce Kennedy contributed 17 points.
In the first meeting between Kutztown and Cheyney, the Golden Bear defense tamed Bray by holding him to 14 points, but they were unable to contain David Burton and Kennedy, who combined for 43 points. The Wolves shot 57.1 percent to beat Kutztown and they held the lead the entire second half. The Golden Bears never found a rhythm at Cope Hall and made a season low 37 percent for the game. Johnson led KU with 19 points and Edwards finished with 16 points.
For the Golden Bears, who are third in the PSAC in scoring offense, Johnson leads them in scoring and rebounding. Also averaging double digits for the balanced Golden Bears are Edwards (12.3 points per game), Julius Gray (Lincoln University, PA/Oxford Area) (12.0), and Eric Brennan (Chester, PA/West Catholic) (10.1). Kutztown has been led in scoring by somebody different in its last four games. Gray leads the PSAC in free-throw percentage (89.1 percent).
This is the second stop on a three-game road trip for Cheyney. Bray and Burton are two of the most dynamic scorers in the conference. Bray is second in the PSAC in scoring (20.0) and Burton is fifth (17.8). In addition Bray is also fourth in the PSAC in free-throw percentage (85.7) and seventh in assists (3.5). Burton is also fourth in the conference in rebounding (9.1).
Giving Cheyney a capable third scoring option has been Kennedy, who has found the range from 3-point distance lately. Averaging 11.7 points per game, Kennedy has made 21 3-pointers in Cheyney's last five games, including 11 in the Wolves' two wins over Millersville and Shippensburg last week. He is third in 3-pointers made per game and fourth in 3-point field goals made per game.
Both teams will be on the road Saturday afternoon. Kutztown goes to East Stroudsburg and Cheyney travels to Bloomsburg. Both games start at 3 p.m.
--KU--
