Box Score



MANSFIELD, Pa. –Devon McBride (Richmond, VA/Hill School) (Richmond, VA/Hill School) dropped a career-high 32 points for the second time this season as the senior forward helped the Kutztown University men's basketball team rally late in the second half and cruise to a 77-65 win over Mansfield University Wednesday evening in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division matchup at Decker Gymnasium.
 
Kutztown (12-5 overall, 9-4 PSAC) has now won eight in a row and is undefeated in Eastern Division play.  In a game that featured 13 lead changes, a late KU run broke open a battle that had a largest lead of just six points through the first 34 minutes.  Wednesday was Kutztown's first win at Mansfield (6-11, 3-10) since a PSAC Quarterfinal game in the 2009-10 season.
 
With a two-point lead and under ten minutes to play, McBride put the team on his back and went to work.  The senior showed confidence and leadership down the stretch to make five straight buckets for the Golden Bears.  Capped off with a Tyler Brooks (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone) (Douglassville, PA/Daniel Boone) layup, Kutztown mounted a 15-3 run spanning over 6:20 to give KU a 14-point, 73-59 lead with 3:09 to play.  Brooks was one of four Golden Bears to finish in double figures in scoring as the sophomore had ten points with eight rebounds.
 
McBride converted on all five of his free throw attempts in the final 20 minutes on his way to 20 second half points.  For the game, he shot 12-of-20 from the field and 3-for-8 from 3-point range.  McBride is KU's leading scorer this season (21.0) and has now scored over 20 points in three straight games.  He also grabbed six rebounds as KU dominated on the glass, 48-35.
 
Leading KU on the boards was its other pair of seniors.  As expected, forward Eric Brennan (Chester, PA/West Catholic) (Chester, PA/West Catholic) notched his eighth double-double of the season with 13 points and a game-high ten rebounds.  He was 5-for-10 from the field to help KU to 40.5 percent shooting on the night. 
 
What fans may not have expected, however, was for KU guard Nate Edwards (Philadelphia, PA/North Catholic) (Philadelphia, PA/North Catholic) to go stride for stride with KU's leading rebounder in Brennan and grab a career-high ten rebounds.  It was Edwards' first career double-double as he also scored 11 points.  It was not the seniors' best shooting performance of his career, but Edwards helped lead the Golden Bears to victory with three assists and a team-high three steals.
 
Also with three steals was junior guard Micah Fraction (Macungie, PA/Montrose Christian) (Macungie, PA/Montrose Christian).  He had seven points on just 3-for-8 shooting but dished out a game-high five assists while sealing KU's battle in the turnover department.  KU gave the ball up 14 times to Mansfield's 18, leading to 12 additional KU shots.
 
KU was a perfect 13-for-13 at the free throw line as 12 came in the second half.  The last time Kutztown was flawless at the charity stripe was on February 1, 2010 when it set a school-record 16 makes without a miss.
 
The 12-point victory wasn't nearly as easy as its previous seven straight, all of which coming by double digits.  Mansfield stormed out early to take a five point lead in the opening minutes.  After six lead changes, the Mounties built a six point advantage late in the opening half but could not prevent a Golden Bear run.  A Joe Bell layup gave MU a 52-48 lead with 13:43 remaining, but would become victim to a McBride rally of seven straight points to give KU the three point advantage with just over 12 minutes to play.
 
Bell dropped 14 points in the setback and was one of three Mountaineers to score in double figures.  Chuck Harper led MU with 19 on 7-for-15 shooting.  Kyle Bradley scored ten points and like Bell, grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
 
Kutztown's impressive streak has made it one of the top teams in the conference.  It looks ahead to a highly-anticipated matchup with Bloomsburg (14-4, 10-3) on Saturday, Jan. 28 with first place in the division on the line.  Game time at Nelson Field House is set for 3 p.m.  KU split its games with the Huskies last season with each team winning on its home floor.