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KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University men's basketball team travels to face the Shippensburg University Red Raiders on Jan. 22 in a Wednesday night road game in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division. Tipoff at Heiges Field House is set for 8 p.m.
 
The Golden Bears (4-12, 2-4 PSAC East) look to bounce back after back-to-back heartbreaking four-point losses on the road. The loss on Saturday was at Lock Haven, in which the Bald Eagles took the lead with 16 seconds left. Each of the last four Kutztown losses were by six points or fewer. Meanwhile, the Red Raiders (2-14, 0-6) are looking to get their first win in the PSAC East this season. Shippensburg only has wins against Chestnut Hill and California (PA).
 
LAST TIME OUT: Kutztown and Lock Haven led by no more than four points in the second half, but the Bald Eagles pushed away late with four points in 16 seconds. The Golden Bears lost, 62-58, to drop to 1-8 in their last nine games. Each of the last four Kutztown losses are by six points or fewer. Josh Johnson (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) led all Kutztown scorers with 15 points and seven rebounds. The Golden Bears shot 8-of-27 in the second half from the field in the see-saw affair.
 
DOUBLE J, DOUBLE DIGITS: Freshman forward Josh Johnson (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) scored 15 points in Saturday's loss, his 13th game with 10+ points in 16 tries. Johnson, a two-time PSAC East Freshman of the Week, averages 12.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game this season.
 
THE PEAL DEAL: Sophomore forward Tracy Peal leads the team with 15.9 points per game. Peal currently looks like arguably the top focal point offensively, as he leads the team with 202 field-goal attempts. Peal also seems to have hit his rhythm, averaging 19.2 points per game in the six games in 2014. This includes three 20+ point efforts in his last five. Peal has six such scoring 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 (25.3 percent for the season), and that spark briefly came last Wednesday 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. 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 Shippensburg Red Raiders
 
GO-TO JOE: Sophomore guard Joe Lococo has already established himself as one of the top offensive threats in the PSAC East. His 19.8 points per game rank fourth in the conference. He does this on 43.2 percent shooting from the field, including 38.8 percent from three. Lococo also averages 4.8 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game, the latter which leads the team.
 
SEEIND RED ON D: The primary struggles for Ship comes from the defense. The 77.8 points allowed per game ranks 17th in the PSAC, leading only Mansfield (79.8 papg). Part of this can be attributed to pace of the game, as Ship ranks 13th in field goal percentage on defense and sixth from three-point range. Ship's 428 field goals allowed are second-worst in the PSAC.
 
HEY THERE, COACH: Red Raiders head coach Chris Fite is in his first season with the program. Hired in June 2013, Fite became just the third SU men's basketball head coach in the last 43 years. Fite previously served as an assistant coach at Indiana, Pa. from 2006-2013. Fite is leading all-time leader scorer at the University of Rochester, a Division III program.