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KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University men's basketball team travels to face the Lock Haven Bald Eagles on Jan. 18 in a Saturday afternoon Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division battle at Thomas Fieldhouse. Tipoff from Lock Haven is set for 3 p.m.
 
Both the Golden Bears (4-11, 2-3 PSAC East) and Bald Eagles (9-6, 2-3) own a 2-3 mark in the PSAC East, which puts them in a four-way tie for fourth place in the division. The Golden Bears got there after losing 77-73 at Millersville in a Wednesday road battle. KU nearly overcame a 27-point deficit, but two free throws by the Marauders in the final five seconds sealed the victory. As for LHU, the Bald Eagles search for their first 10-win season since the 2002-03 campaign.
 
LAST TIME OUT: Kutztown nearly overcame a 27-point first-half deficit at Millersville, but lost to the Marauders, 77-73, Wednesday night on the road. The Golden Bears trailed 42-17 with over five minutes left in the first half, but the Golden Bears went on a 28-8 run to set up a competitive end to the ball game. Tracy Peal netted a double-double, with 20 points and 10 rebounds, but he fouled out with 2:53 left in the game. Elijah Jackson (Pottstown, PA/Pottstown) added a career-high 15 points.
 
DOUBLE J, DOUBLE DIGITS: Freshman forward Josh Johnson (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) scored 13 points in Wednesday's loss, his 12th game with 10+ points in 15 tries. Johnson, a two-time PSAC East Freshman of the Week, averages 12.1 points and 7.0 rebounds per game this season.
 
THE PEAL DEAL: Sophomore forward Tracy Peal leads the team with 16.3 points per game. Peal leads the team with 191 field-goal attempts. He seems to have hit his rhythm, averaging 20.8 points per game in the five games in 2014. This includes three 20+ point efforts in his last four. Peal has six such games for the season.
 
FRESHMAN ON POINT: A starter from the beginning of the season, freshman point guard Austin Beidelman (Schnecksville, Pa./Parkland) held his "breakout" party on Dec. 17, when he scored 12 of his team-high (and season-high) 27 points in the final six minutes of an OT road win at Clarion. For the season, Beidelman is one of four players who average double figures, with his 10.9 points per game. He also leads the team with 3.3 assists per game.
 
NEED THE THREE: The Golden Bears are also looking for a boost shooting beyond the arc (26.3 percent for the season), and that spark came Wednesday night in Millersville. Freshman guard Elijah Jackson (Pottstown, PA/Pottstown) began the season shooting 2-of-17 (11.8 percent) from three, but he made all three such attempts against the Marauders. As a result, KU finished 6-of-9 from three-point range, marking the most makes since the season opener at Goldey-Beacom.
 
Looking in the Other Corner: the Lock Haven Bald Eagles
 
GOOD VIBRATIONS: The Bald Eagles are enjoying the program's best start in at least a decade, and possibly even two decades. With a win against KU, Lock Haven will have its first 10-win season since 2002-03. Furthermore, LHU last had a winning season in the 1992-93 season, when the team went 14-12. Haven enjoyed two seasons with a .500 record since then.
 
BIG THREE: Junior guard Wali Hepburn ranks second in the PSAC in scoring, with 21.6 points per game. He leads a trio for the Bald Eagles that can compete with any in the PSAC East. Beyond Hepburn, senior forward Kasheef Festus averages 13.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, while freshman guard Bootsie Walker averages 10.1 points per game.
 
HEY THERE, COACH: Bald Eagles head coach Mike Nestor is in his third season with the program. Overseeing a major rebuilding program, Nestor went 0-25 during year one at the helm. However, after earning six wins last season and starting 9-6 this season, the coach has the program headed firmly in an upward direction. Nestor is a Shippensburg alum.