Box Score BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – Before the Golden Bears hit the floor in Bloomsburg to play a game with postseason ramifications, they suffered another setback due to injury.
Tyler Brooks (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone) was ruled out of the game, leaving Kutztown with only six available players against the Huskies.
The lacking depth, crippled by injury for the past six weeks, proved to play a major role in another heartbreaking loss for the Golden Bears. Kutztown (5-22, 4-17 PSAC) lost its fifth overtime game is as many attempts as Bloomsburg (8-17, 6-15 PSAC) prevailed at Nelson Fieldhouse, 85-80. The Golden Bears finished the game with three players left on the court, as three others fouled out in the extra session.
Micah Fraction (Macungie, PA/Montrose Christian) continued his rabid scoring pace, setting a new career high with 36 points. Fraction, who tied a career high Wednesday night as he surpassed the 1000-point mark in only his 53rd game as a Golden Bear, surpassed the 30-point total for his fourth consecutive game and his seventh in the last 13 games. The point total included a career-best 15 free throws made.
Unfortunately, Fraction's lone miss from the charity stripe came with the game tied at 66 with 54 seconds left. After Bloomsburg's rebound, the Huskies missed a pair of shots to send the game to overtime. BU's Daniel Kusnyer missed a shot, but grabbed the board on his own miss with 38 seconds left. Lorenzo Christmas then missed a jumper in the waning seconds of regulation.
In overtime, the Huskies scored the first six points and held the lead throughout afterwards. Fraction scored 10 points in the extra five minutes, but he fouled out with seven seconds left to leave the Golden Bears left. Previously,
Kenny Battle (Philadelphia, PA/Imhotep Charter) fouled out with 36 seconds left and
Harrison Johnson (Philadelphia, PA/School of the Future) fouled out with 18 seconds left. Still, the Golden Bears only trailed by two (82-80) after a layup from Fraction with 15 seconds left.
While the Golden Bears were forced to adjust their starting lineup without Brooks, they received a huge boost from
Daniel Mack (Philadelphia, PA/Paul Robeson). In his first career start, Mack netted his first double-double with a dual-career-high 13 points and 10 rebounds. He shot 5-of-6 from the field and 3-of-7 from the free throw line. Tracy Peal also stood out with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
The Huskies received a joyous boost from Lorenzo Christmas, who tallied 34 points and 10 rebounds. Christmas shot 15-of-18 from the free throw line. The output between Fraction and Christmas marks the second time in as many games that the Golden Bears and their opponent featured a 30+ point scorer.
The regular season finale Wednesday night at Mansfield can be heard on the Golden Bear Network, with the tip-off scheduled for 7:30pm.
