Box Score



EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. – Kutztown University trailed by just one after a three by Ryan Connolly (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton Area) with 29 seconds left, but No. 13 East Stroudsburg held off the Golden Bears 64-60 in PSAC East action.
 
KU led for much of the first half and kept pace with the Warriors throughout the game, never trailing by more than eight points. 
 
Micah Fraction (Macungie, PA/Montrose Christian) finished the game with 28 points on 9-of-18 shooting and was 7-of-7 from the foul line.  He sank 3-of-7 from three-point range and grabbed six rebounds.  Tyler Brooks (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone) added 16 points on 6-of-8 from the field to go along with two blocks and three steals.  Kenny Battled led Kutztown with seven rebounds.
 
In the first half, a dunk by Terrance King put the Warriors ahead 21-18 with 9:04 on the clock.  Connolly drilled a three a minute later to tie the game and start a 10-1 run that put Kutztown up 26-21 after jumper by Brooks with 2:56 to go in the period. 
 
ESU charged back and a layup by Gerald Bridges, Jr. tied the game at 28-28 heading into halftime.
 
After Kutztown failed to score on its first possession of the second half, the Warriors grabbed two offensive boards on their initial offensive series and King scored to give ESU the lead for good.
 
The Golden Bears kept fighting and the lead was never more than six until a three by Mike Grant made it 47-39 with 11 minutes left in the game.  The lead went to eight points one more time, but Brooks drilled a three to cut it to 54-49 with 5:01 to go.  From there KU continued to whittle the lead until Connolly pulled the Golden Bears to within 59-58 with 29 seconds left.
 
Kutztown was forced to foul, however, and the Warriors went 5-of-6 from the charity stripe down the stretch to ice the game.
 
Duane Johnson led ESU with 20 points.  He hit 6-of-10 field goals and went 7-of-8 from the line.  Grant added 13 points and five assists.  King and Bridges each scored 10 points, while King paced the team with eight rebounds.
 
Kutztown hit 6-of-13 threes in the game (46 percent) and was 12-of-13 from the foul line (92 percent). 
 
While the Golden Bears held a 32-29 edge on the glass, the Warriors outscored KU 14-6 on second chance points.

In just his second year at KU, Fraction topped 900 career points in the contest, finishing the afternoon with 912 points.
 
Kutztown hosts West Chester on Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m.