Box Score PHILADELPHIA – The Kutztown University men's basketball team could not connect on two late opportunities as it dropped Tuesday evening's contest to Philadelphia University, 70-69, at the Gallagher Center.
Micah Fraction (Macungie, PA/Montrose Christian) led the Golden Bears with a team-high 16 points and handed out six assists.
Trailing by as many as nine points with less than four minutes to play in regulation, the Golden Bears (1-3) were ignited by a pair of three-pointers from Fraction, which cut the lead to three at the 3:14 mark. Fraction would go on to score 10 of KU's final 12 points, but the Rams (3-1) were too much as they hung on for the 70-69 victory.
With a six-point lead at halftime, Philadelphia fought off the Golden Bears who were able to tie the ball game on two separate occasions after the break. A made three from
Tyler Brooks (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone) with 12:46 to play knotted the score at 46 but the Rams answered back, going on a quick 9-4 run to regain the momentum.
Falling behind in the opening minutes, 5-0, the Golden Bears came roaring back with a 16-4 run, capped off by a
Kenny Wilson (New Castle, DE/Delcastle) lay-up, six minutes into the game. From there, it was mostly Philadelphia who closed out the remainder of the first on a 26-15 run.
Ryan Connolly (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton Area) reached double figures for the first time in his collegiate career as he shot 4-of-5 from the floor for 11 points. Brooks and Tracy Peal also had a strong night for Kutztown as they were the only others to reach double figures. Brooks had 10 points, six assists and added eight boards, while Peal posted 12 points and six rebounds.
Peter Alexis led all scorers on the evening with 17 points on an 8-of-12 shooting night. Nick Schlitzer added 16 for the Rams and Nick Christian posted the only double-double with 12 points and 11 boards. Andre Gibbs accounted for a good bit of the offensive production, scoring 14 points and dishing out six assists.
In an evenly matched game, Philadelphia held an advantage in second-chance points, 15-8, and out rebounded the Golden Bears, 31-26. The Rams also shot better from the floor, hitting on 50-percent of their attempts, while Kutztown shot 46-percent.
The Maroon and Gold will get back on the hardwood when it returns to Keystone Arena on Tuesday night, for its home opener at 7:00 p.m. against Holy Family University.
