Box Score



KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University men's basketball team rolled to its fourth straight victory behind Tyler Brooks (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone)' (Douglassville, PA/Daniel Boone) career-high 22 points in KU's 87-68 victory over West Chester Wednesday evening in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division matchup at Keystone Arena.
 
Kutztown (8-5 overall, 5-4 PSAC) shot an impressive 57.1 percent from the field including 67.9 percent in the second half as all five starters finished in double figures in scoring.  The Golden Bears are currently averaging over 90 points per game during their longest winning streak of the season.
 
Brooks has been one of KU's most consistent players through the first half of the season.  He has been able to contribute in every aspect of the game and had an offensive output Wednesday that was long overdue.  The sophomore forward shot 10-for-11 from the field while chipping in four blocks, four rebounds, and a pair of steals.  His previous career-high in scoring came in last year's tussle with Mercyhurst where he dropped 14.
 
KU jumped out to an early ten-point lead just over five minutes into regulation.  The lead grew to 19 in the first half as the Golden Bears took a 17-point advantage into halftime.  West Chester (6-7, 3-6) put together a run of its own to start the second half as a Lance McDowell layup cut the KU lead to 12 with 15:08 remaining.  That is as close as the Golden Rams would get however, as a following KU stint would inflate the lead to as many as 21 off a Nate Edwards (Philadelphia, PA/North Catholic) (Philadelphia, PA/North Catholic) layup midway through the second half.  Edwards finished with 12 points in the victory and grabbed five rebounds along with three assists and two steals.
 
Eric Brennan (Chester, PA/West Catholic)'s (Chester, PA/West Catholic) game-high 12 rebounds helped KU hold the narrow edge on the boards, 37-34.  Yet again, the senior forward came within grasp of his first career triple-double.  He scored 14 points and dished out a game-high seven assists.  He was very efficient in his 34 minutes of work, shooting 6-for-8 from the field and making both of his free-throws.  Brennan has been on a tear as of late, averaging 13 points, nine rebounds and six assists per game in KU's last four victories.
 
12 West Chester turnovers helped Kutztown hold onto and increase the lead down the stretch.  It limited WCU to 38.2 percent from the field and was KU's second straight game holding its opponent to under 40 percent from the floor.  Kutztown, the conference leader in free-throw percentage, also converted on 12 of its 15 trips to the charity stripe.
 
Micah Fraction (Macungie, PA/Montrose Christian) (Macungie, PA/Montrose Christian) finished with 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the floor.  The junior point guard ran the offense with confidence Wednesday evening, captaining the fast break offense on multiple occasions and finishing with some eye-opening finishes at the basket.  He made all three of his free-throw attempts and added four assists and a game-high three steals.
 
Devon McBride (Richmond, VA/Hill School) (Richmond, VA/Hill School), this week's PSAC East Athlete of the Week, finished a shade under his season scoring average with 17.  He opened the game with a backdoor cut resulting in an easy dunk off an assist from Edwards.  McBride finished the game with six rebounds and a pair of assists while making both of his free-throws. 
 
West Chester was led by its PSAC Freshman of the Week, Corey Blake.  Blake led four Golden Ram double-digit scorers with 16.  McDowell finished with 15 points and one rebound away from a double-double.  Carl Johnson and Jaleel Mack rounded out the WCU scoring bulk with 13 and 12 points, respectively.  Like KU, WCU also made the most of its trips to the line, making 14-of-18 free-throws.
 
The Golden Bears now make their highly-anticipated trip to East Stroudsburg for a rematch of last year's PSAC Quarterfinal game.  The two teams were picked in the top two in the PSAC preseason coaches' poll and will face off at Koehler Fieldhouse on Saturday, Jan. 14 for an Eastern Division matchup beginning at 3 p.m.