Box Score



KUTZTOWN, Pa. – It was one of the greatest finishes in recent memory at Keystone Arena, for any sport.  Junior guard Micah Fraction (Macungie, PA/Montrose Christian) (Macungie, PA/Montrose Christian) of the Kutztown University men's basketball team hit the biggest shot of his KU career on Saturday.  His floater as time expired lifted Kutztown to a 56-55 victory over Bloomsburg University in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division thriller.
 
Down one with 18 seconds to play, Fraction ran the offense for the Golden Bears.  His contested 3-pointer with eight seconds left rimmed up and was tipped out to him well outside the perimeter.  The 5-9 guard showed his composure in the final seconds to know how much time was left and to get the highest percentage look at the basket.  When many players would throw up a prayer at the buzzer hoping for some luck, Fraction attacked the basket and put up a floater from the free throw line that was nothing but net.
 
The bench erupted for KU and after being tackled to the ground by senior guard Nate Edwards (Philadelphia, PA/North Catholic) (Philadelphia, PA/North Catholic), Fraction was piled on top of by his teammates right in front of the Huskie bench.  The winner was Fraction's first field goal of the game as he was 0-for-10 before the dramatic conclusion.  It accounted for two of his three points on the night.
 
“We had a good play drawn up to have shooters in the corner and Eric rolling to the basket,” Fraction said about the final play.  “Eric did a great job of tipping the ball out to give us a second chance.  I was in a perfect position to see how much time was left and I knew I had enough time to penetrate a little bit to get a good shot off.”
 
Saturday's dramatic finish would have been a great accomplishment for any team.  The magnitude of the Golden Bear-Huskie clash was for first place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division.  With the win, Kutztown (16-8 overall, 13-7) moves into a first place tie with Bloomsburg (17-8, 13-7).  Having beaten BU twice this season, KU holds the advantage and can earn a PSAC East title on Wednesday with a win over Mansfield and a Bloomsburg loss at East Stroudsburg.  Regardless of the outcome of KU's final week of the regular season, it has already secured a place in the playoffs for the tenth consecutive season.
 
At the beginning of the season, head coach Bernie Driscoll never thought his team could win with only scoring 56 points.  A new-look Golden Bear lineup bought into a new style of play with hard-nosed defense.  Despite being undersized when compared to the Huskies, KU matched Bloom on the boards and left every ounce of energy on the court.
 
Bloomsburg held the one point advantage after senior center Larry Webster hit a pair of free throws to put BU up one, 55-54.  Webster stepped to the line on what would be Bloom's final possession shooting just 33 percent at the charity stripe for the season.  After swishing the first one, Webster emphatically banked in the second free throw.
 
KU's defensive front gave it a golden opportunity with less than a minute to play.  With Edwards hounding the Huskie guard Lorenzo Christmas, he forced Christmas to lose control of the basketball and turn it over with 54 seconds to play.  KU and senior forward Eric Brennan (Chester, PA/West Catholic) (Chester, PA/West Catholic) capitalized off the BU mishap as Brennan fought through the lane and scored to put KU up 54-53 with 44 seconds to play.
 
KU's defense limited Bloom to just eight field goals and 24 points in the second half, after it only scored 24 in the opening 20 minutes.  KU played aggressively and attacked the basket all night and held a major advantage at the charity stripe.  KU, the top free throw shooting team in the East, went 16-for-22 as no one missed more than two.  BU was just 6-of-12.
 
“Our guys played really well tonight in defending and not getting into foul trouble,” Driscoll said.  “I knew that if we could stay in the game and get it down to the last two minutes, we'd have a shot.  Eric did a great job of pulling the defense out and running the offense.”
 
Brennan was clearly the best player on the floor Saturday.  Since his game-opening 3-pointer, Brennan showed confidence and versatility to drop a game-high 23 points, his most since joining the Golden Bear club last season.  The 6-7 forward was 8-for-14 from the field and was 3-of-4 from beyond the arc after making his first three.  The East's top rebounder grabbed eight rebounds and went 4-for-6 at the line.
 
Brennan and Edwards were each honored at half court before the game Saturday with personalized basketballs for scoring 1,000 points in their careers.  Edwards, currently 11th in KU history in scoring, is two points shy of passing fellow North Catholic graduate Eddie McTague for tenth on the scoring list.  He finished with 11 points against Bloom with a pair of steals.
 
Sophomore forward Tyler Brooks (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone) (Douglassville, PA/Daniel Boone) grabbed a game-high ten rebounds and helped Brennan guard the low block.  He entered the game as the conference's second leading shot blocker and added four more against the Huskies.
 
Junior guard Ivory Wells (Philadelphia, PA/Imhotep Charter) (Philadelphia, PA/Imhotep Charter) started for the second consecutive game and finished with seven points, all coming in the first half.
 
Bloomsburg looked strong in the early going as they led by as many as nine (21-11) midway through the first half.  The Huskies led by seven at the break, 31-24.  Christmas fueled the BU attack with 14 points with a game-high four 3-pointers.  Webster made all four of his field goal attempts and rounded out the pair of double-digit scorers with ten points.  Redshirt sophomore Dontahe Jordan scored nine points and was the team's top rebounder with eight.
 
Kutztown returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 22 to take on Mansfield University.  KU will also take the time to honor its three seniors in its final regular season home game.  Tipoff at Keystone Arena is set for 8 p.m.