Just eight months removed from its third Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division Championship title in the past five years, the Kutztown University men's basketball team takes to the court to defend its crown and open the season on Friday, November 9th, against West Virginia State.
 
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Under the direction of head coach Bernie Driscoll, entering his 13th season, the squad will look to keep the conference's longest active playoff appearance streak intact. The Golden Bears have reached the postseason in 10 consecutive seasons and will try to better that with a young team.
 
“We play for the title every year, that's our goal,” said Driscoll. “There is a lot of pride in Kutztown Basketball and we want to continue that pride. We're young but guys like Tyler Brooks (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone) and Micah Fraction (Macungie, PA/Montrose Christian) really have to step up and be the glue to keep us together.”
 
The 2012-13 unit led by preseason all-conference Eastern Division first team honoree Fraction will look to replenish a highly potent attack that graduated over 60 percent of its scoring. Helping Fraction out will be junior captain Brooks and sophomore Mike John (East Stroudsburg, PA/East Stroudsburg North).
 
Fraction had a stellar first season wearing the Maroon and Gold, torching defenses with over 16 points a game on his way to being tabbed a member of the 2011-12 PSAC East Second Team.  The 5-9 senior from Macungie, Pa. led Kutztown in scoring six times last season, including a career-high 34-point performance against East Stroudsburg in the conference tournament. He will be looked on to carry the mantle of responsibility, earning the captain role as a senior.
 
Both Brooks and John will be key factors in the team's success after proving they can step up and score points. Brooks highlighted his sophomore campaign with 22 points against West Chester going nearly perfect from the field on a 10-of-11 shooting night. Starting all 27 games last season, he stacked up 46 blocks, for an average of 1.7 a game which was good for second in the conference.
 
John saw action in 21 games as a freshman and will be counted on to produce on the offensive end. He went for a season-high 17 points against Penn State Berks on 7-of-11 shooting. He also knocked down four three-pointers in his collegiate debut as the Golden Bears roared past Philadelphia in last season's 84-78 victory over the Rams. 
 
Also returning from last season's memorable team is a lengthy athletic core of players. Ivory Wells (Philadelphia, PA/Imhotep Charter) is a 6-4 guard that made five starts a year ago, while 6-6 forward Demerik Weglinski saw action in 24 games.
 
Along with them, Kenny Battle (Philadelphia, PA/Imhotep Charter) brings a good deal of experience with over 12 minutes a game in 2011-12 and 6-9 center Daniel Mack (Philadelphia, PA/Paul Robeson) adds size and bolsters the middle. Expected to help solidify the backcourt is a pair of sophomores, Anthony Butler (Chester, PA/Archbishop Caroll) and Abdul King (Philadelphia, PA/Constitution). King scored 43 points and tallied 11 steals in limited action and Butler is projected to play a bigger role after sitting out last year.
 
In addition to its cast of championship experienced players, the Golden Bears replenished their roster with six newcomers – Kenny Wilson (New Castle, DE/Delcastle), Ryan Connolly (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton Area), Daniel Pittman (Chester, PA/Academy of the New Church), Mike McCready (Bethlehem, PA/Freedom (King's College)), Mamadou Diakite (Philadelphia, PA/Constitution) and Tracy Peal – will all gain valuable knowledge from this group as will all play roles in the success of the 2012-13 squad.
 
“We have a lot of young athletic guys and if we get them playing with confidence and playing as a team, I think we can do a lot bigger things than what people expect,” said Brooks. “They are going to need some time to get some experience but as that process works, I think this team is going to come together.”
 
The Maroon and Gold open its regular season slate of games in Erie, Pa. at the PSAC/WVIAC Challenge against West Virginia State (11/9) and Concord (11/10).
 
Kutztown will host their first game in Keystone Arena against Holy Family University on November 27, beginning at 7 p.m. KU last faced HFU in 2012 for a victory win on their home court (71-67).
 
The Golden Bears will be on the road for their first three PSAC games. KU will go up against Gannon University and Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pennsylvania on December 1-2, consecutively. Both games will begin at 3 p.m. and will be followed up by a trip to Shippensburg on December 8 to play against SHU at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
 
KU will return to Keystone Arena on December 18 to play Clarion University along with Lock Haven University Wednesday evening, both PSAC games beginning at 7:30 p.m. The Golden Bears will finish off the season with 17 more PSAC games and one non-conference game in Philadelphia against University of the Sciences on December 30 at 3 p.m.
 
PSAC Championships will begin March 3-9.

Kristen Cornelis, Sports Information Student Assistant, contributed to this story.