EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. (February 19, 2011) – Everything is still good for the Kutztown University men's basketball team despite dropping a tough 69-68 decision to East Stroudsburg University in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division game Saturday afternoon at Koehler Field House. (BOXSCORE)
The Golden Bears (15-9 overall, 8-4 PSAC East) will win the regular season title with wins over Mansfield and Millersville next week. In addition, Kutztown can still clinch a playoff spot and a home game with one win in its final two games. So even though the Golden Bears temporarily fell into second place and a game behind Mansfield, they will have a complete say-so on who finishes first in the PSAC East.
Tamir Johnson (Philadelphia, PA/Imhotep Charter) led the Golden Bears with his second straight and seventh double-double of the season. He had 19 points and 10 rebounds. Nate Edwards (Philadelphia, PA/North Catholic) finished with 13 points and Eric Brennan (Chester, PA/West Catholic) added 11 points for Kutztown. Even though Kutztown was 25-for-40 from the foul line, it led 68-67 following a Julius Gray (Lincoln University, PA/Oxford Area) 3-pointer with 2 minutes, 10 seconds remaining.
East Stroudsburg's Mike Tobin made a jumper with 1:24 remaining to give the Warriors for the lead for good. Kutztown had the ball twice following Tobin's basket, but it turned the ball over each time. With the win, East Stroudsburg (13-11, 6-6) pulled into a three-way tie for third place with Cheyney (16-8, 6-6), and Bloomsburg (10-14, 6-6) by rallying from a 13-point first half deficit.
Duane Johnson led the Warriors with 11 points and Micah Covert finished with 10 points. Marcus Brown and Mike DeMarco added nine points each for the Warriors.
Kutztown started fast by scoring the first five points and never trailing in the opening 20 minutes. Unfortunately for the Golden Bears, things turned in the beginning of the second half. Kutztown missed its first six shots from the field as ESU opened the half on a 12-3 run to tie the game, 45-45.
Will Brown gave East Stroudsburg its first lead of the game, 52-51, with 12:51 remaining after making a 3-pointer. Even though the Warriors stretched their advantage to 62-58 with 7:24 left, the Golden Bears displayed their resolve and battled down the stretch. The Golden Bears tied the contest twice at 62 and 65.
After Gray's 3-pointer gave KU a one-point lead, the Golden Bears had an opportunity to extend their lead, but they missed a pair of foul shots.
Overall, Kutztown shot 6-of-18 in the second half after making 50 percent in the opening half (13-for-26). Two of KU's six baskets in the second stanza were Gray 3-pointers. As a team, Kutztown generated 14 assists on its 19 baskets. The Golden Bear defense was strong as it limited ESU to 38.3 percent shooting (23-for-60) and forced 17 turnovers.
The PSAC East playoff picture will come into sharper focus following Wednesday's action. Kutztown visits Mansfield at 7:30 p.m. The Golden Bears beat Mansfield, 95-88, in overtime at Keystone Arena on Feb. 3. Meanwhile, East Stroudsburg hosts Bloomsburg and West Chester visits Cheyney. Both of those games start at 8 p.m.
