Box Score Pitt-Johnstown 86, Kutztown 75 (HTML Box Score)
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University men's basketball team erased a 23-point deficit, but could not suppress the offensive attack from Pitt-Johnstown's guard-play as it fell 86-75 on the road Wednesday night in the second day of back-to-back games.
After trailing 33-10 in the first half, Kutztown put together an elongated 39-16 run to tie the game at 49, five minutes into the second half. KU was never able to capture a lead during the non-conference battle, but the tenacity it showed to never give up and continue to apply pressure on both ends of the floor can certainly benefit this young team moving forward.
The second game of a back-to-back road trip is both physically and mentally draining on teams at all levels, in any sport. Less than 24 hours following an overtime victory at Clarion, the Golden Bears (3-5) trekked across Western Pennsylvania to take on a balanced Mountain Cat (7-3) team in the team's final road game of the calendar year.
Turnovers plagued the Golden Bears in the early going, as five giveaways before the first media timeout gave Pitt-Johnstown an 11-4 lead. Even though the turnovers stopped for Kutztown, UPJ made three of its next four shots, all of which were three-pointers. The long distance service elevated the lead to 20-7 at the following media timeout.
It quickly turned into a game of field goal percentages, as Pitt-Johnstown improved its percentage to more than 60 percent through the first 12 minutes to give it a 30-9 lead. The lead ballooned to as high as 23 in the half, but Kutztown continued to fight, and cut the deficit to as low as 14 during the half. It trailed the Mountain Cats 45-28 at halftime.
Kutztown opened the second half with a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to 10 (47-37), and capped the run with a
Josh Johnson (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) alley-oop that tied the game at 49 apiece for the 39-16 run.
Since the tie, Pitt-Johnstown rattled off a quick 10-2 run to take back command of the game with a 59-51 lead. UPJ kept the lead to more than three for the remainder of the game.
All five starters scored in double figures for Kutztown. Sophomore forward Tracy Peal tied a career-high with 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting. He was able to score both inside and outside of the paint, as he also added a game-high eight rebounds and four assists.
Johnson scored 15 points to extend his streak of season-opening games with double-digit points to eight. It marked the second-most games with 10 or more points by a freshman to start a season in the last 29 years, dating back to when Kutztown Hall of Famer Butch Hills notched double figures in his first 10 career games of the 1985-86 season.
Freshman
Austin Beidelman (Schnecksville, Pa./Parkland) scored 12 points with four assists,
Elijah Jackson (Pottstown, PA/Pottstown) scored a career-high 11 points, and
Ryan Connolly (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton Area) grabbed six rebounds with 10 points.
Pitt-Johnstown was led by Ian Vescovi with 25 points on 12-for-16 shooting. He grabbed a team-high six rebounds with a pair of assists. Nate Snodgrass (16) and Bill Luthur (13) also scored in double figures. As a team, UPJ shot 52.4 percent from the field.
The Golden Bears return home and continue crossover play on Saturday, Dec. 21 to take on seventh-ranked Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Tipoff at Keystone Arena is set for 3 p.m.
