KUTZTOWN, Pa. (February 9, 2011) – Nate Edwards (Philadelphia, PA/North Catholic) never hesitated and his go-ahead 3-pointer with 31 seconds remaining touched nothing but net.
Edwards' clutch basket propelled the Kutztown University men's basketball team to an exhilarating 67-64 victory over West Chester University in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division goodie Wednesday night at Keystone Arena. (BOXSCORE)
“I just saw we were down two at the time,” Edwards said. “Tamir Johnson (Philadelphia, PA/Imhotep Charter) set a good screen and it was so good that his man had to hedge out further than expected and the guard was pinned down, so it left me open and I took the shot. Coach always tells me that if you have your feet set then take the shot. I felt confident and I took the shot.”
Even though Edwards' shot gave Kutztown a 65-64 lead it would not relinquish, the Golden Bears had to survive a wild and crazy final WCU flurry to keep their one-game lead over Mansfield atop the PSAC East standings. The Golden Rams had three possessions with an opportunity to take the lead or force overtime.
West Chester came really close to keeping the fans inside of the gym a little longer as Harley Williamson's potential game-tying 3-pointer hit off the backboard, tipped the inside front of the rim twice before bouncing harmlessly away.
Kutztown (14-7 overall, 7-2 PSAC East) got a game-high 21 points from Edwards. He led three players in double figures. Devon McBride (Richmond, VA/Hill School) added 12 points and Tamir Johnson (Philadelphia, PA/Imhotep Charter) finished with 10 points as he was 8-for-9 from the foul line. Both McBride and Johnson had seven rebounds. Steve Coffey (Reading, PA/Wilson) scored nine points. Eric Brennan (Chester, PA/West Catholic) had eight points and eight rebounds in the physical and closely played contest.
Williamson led West Chester with 15 points and Khalif Foster netted 11 points for the Golden Rams (12-9, 3-6). Even after Edwards' 3-pointer, West Chester had a chance to take the lead with 10 seconds remaining, but it missed a pair of foul shots.
“This was a huge win for us tonight,” Edwards said. “We didn't want to lose two home games in a row and then have to go and play a tough road game. It was very physical out there tonight, but we just had fight through it and I thought we did a good job as a team staying focused and keep playing hard.”
West Chester and Kutztown combined for 17 ties and nine lead changes throughout the tense contest that had fans biting their nails and sitting closer to the edge of the bleachers. In the final 14 minutes, neither team led by more than three points.
West Chester led 58-55 with 5:18 remaining. That three-point deficit wasn't the only obstacle the Golden Bears had to overcome Wednesday night. Kutztown had two players foul out midway through the second half and struggled with their shooting touch for much of the game. Despite all of their troubles, the Golden Bears reached down deep and found a way to persevere.
The first half was just as tight. It ended with Kutztown leading 31-30. The Golden Bears trailed 17-12 with 9:47 remaining before scoring nine straight points highlighted by five points from McBride.
Kutztown returns to action Saturday as it visits Bloomsburg University. West Chester travels to East Stroudsburg University. Both games start at 3 p.m.
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