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KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The rivalry between the Kutztown and East Stroudsburg University men's basketball teams has grown exponentially over the past decade. The next chapter of the KU-ESU novel gets written on Saturday, Nov. 23 at Keystone Arena with tipoff set for 3 p.m.
 
Saturday marks the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division opener for the Golden Bears (1-1), as the Warriors (5-0, 1-0 PSAC East) opened their conference slate on Wednesday night, along with the rest of the conference, and are off to their hottest start in four years.
 
Kutztown has shown some high's and low's through the opening two games of its season, and will need to patch together a solid game plan against an ESU team that is receiving votes in the latest national poll. Even though Saturday's rivalry game is played so early in the season, expect a hard fought and emotional game from both sides that like most KU-ESU games, will have Keystone Arena rocking and on its feet come tipoff.
 
"It's going to be a battle," head coach Bernie Driscoll said. "They are a very physical team and we are going to have to match their effort, and have some guys get up and attack the glass."
 
East Stroudsburg won both matchups last season, a narrow 64-60 win on its home floor on Feb. 10, and an 82-61 win at Keystone Arena on Jan. 19 in which Whis Grant scored 19 points for the Warriors. The teams have also met in postseason play in each of Kutztown's previous two appearances.
 
The Golden Bears are coming off a 76-70 setback to non-conference foe Wilmington on Wednesday night in their home-opener. Sophomore forward Tracy Peal was one of three double-digit scorers for the Golden Bears with a game-high 20 points. Through two games, Peal leads the team with 14 points per clip.
 
Peal is one of four double-digit scorers for Kutztown. Ryan Connolly (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton Area) has made a team-high five three-pointers and averages 13.5 points per game, Josh Johnson (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) chips in 11.5 points with a team-leading nine rebounds per game, and Austin Beidelman (Schnecksville, Pa./Parkland) adds 11 points with a team-high eight assists.
 
Kutztown scored the majority of its points against Wilmington in the paint as it made just two three-pointers in the game. Dating back to the 2010-11 season, Kutztown is 1-5 in games when it makes two or fewer three-pointers. In its lone win against Bloomsburg last season, it shot just 40 field goal attempts and shot 57.5 percent from the field.
 
Comparing the two coming into the season, ESU was picked second in the PSAC East Preseason Poll while receiving three first-place votes. Kutztown was picked eighth of nine schools, which was a change for Kutztown as it had been picked in the top four in each of the past four seasons.
 
ESU has won four of its first five games by 20 or more points, including an 88-65 win over Mansfield on Wednesday night. It outscored its first five opponents by a combined 24.8 points per game. The Warriors are led by guard Whis Grant, who is averaging 15.8 points per game and shooting 41.3 percent from the field.
 
Following its game against ESU, Kutztown takes on Philadelphia University in a non-conference game on Tuesday, Nov. 26 before breaking for Thanksgiving. Tipoff at Keystone Arena is set for 7 p.m.