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WEST CHESTER, Pa. – Fans knew that Saturday's semi-annual contest between the Kutztown University and West Chester University men's basketball teams was going to come down to the wire. Regardless of West Chester's 19-3 lead to start the game, and foul trouble plaguing both teams, expectations were met when the final moments arrived. Unfortunately for the Golden Bears, the Golden Rams of West Chester took Saturday's game on their home floor, 63-60 at Hollinger Fieldhouse.
 
The Golden Bears (1-3, 1-1 PSAC East) overcame the early deficit and battled with a Golden Rams (3-1, 2-0) team that was picked to finish second in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division. Kutztown did not shoot particularly well from the field, 29.8 percent overall and 19.2 percent from three-point range (5-for-26), but thankful to great free throw shooting (21-for-25), it had a chance to tie the game at the free throw line in the final seconds.
 
As they seem to do every year they come to Hollinger Fieldhouse, the Golden Bears received tremendous contributions from multiple players off the bench. After trailing 19-3, head coach Bernie Driscoll went to his bench and used a lineup consisting mostly of substitutes to put his team back in contention.
 
Anthony Selby (Jersey City, N.J./Williamstown (Burlington County CC)), Ethan Ridgeway (West Chester, Pa./Bayard Rustin), Rell Sherman (Philadelphia, Pa./Olney West (Manor Junior College)), Howard Sellars (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville Area (Saint Peter's)), and Martin Dietrich (Maytown, Pa./Donegal) meshed together when their teammates needed them most, and used the energy from a passionate KU fan-base in the stands to build a run.
 
West Chester used stifling defense to force KU into 10 turnovers in the opening eight minutes. It outshot KU 15-4 in field goal attempts and used three offensive rebounds to build a 19-3 lead.
 
Sellars stopped the bleeding with a three-pointer off an assist from newly-entered Ridgeway to cut the deficit to 19-6 with Kutztown's second field goal in the first nine minutes.
 
Little did Sellars know, he had just ignited a game-defining run for the Golden Bears.
 
Beginning with the Sellars triple, Kutztown went on a 28-6 run over the next 9:48 built off aggressive defense and spreading the ball around on offense. Trailing by 14, Tyler Brooks (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone) hit a three-pointer in the corner, and following an immediate steal by Ridgeway of the inbound pass, he found Sellars for an and-1 layup to cut the deficit to eight after the ensuing free throw.
 
Sherman and Selby combined for the next seven points to bring Kutztown within two, and with 5:49 left in the half after trailing by 19-3 at one point, Sellars drained a three-pointer to give Kutztown its first lead of the game at 24-23.
 
Kutztown grew its lead to six in the first half off a three-pointer by Dietrich and free throws by Austin Beidelman (Schnecksville, Pa./Parkland), but West Chester ended the half the way it started the game, with a 10-2 run capped with a breakaway layup at the buzzer to take a 35-33 lead at halftime.
 
West Chester led by two-to-three possessions for most of the second half. With 1:49 to go, Dietrich made a three-pointer just 22 seconds after subbing in to cut Kutztown's deficit to two (59-57).
 
With 1:06 to go and four seconds left on the shot clock, West Chester had its layup attempt off an inbound pass blocked by Brooks to keep it to a single possession game. KU missed a three-pointer late in the shot clock, and fouled West Chester with 24 seconds left.
 
West Chester split the free throws, Ridgeway pushed the tempo after the miss and made a driving layup to pull within one (60-59) with 19 seconds to go. West Chester again split its free throws, and following the second miss, KU grabbed the rebound and was fouled with eight seconds left with a chance to tie the game with two free throws. It made the first, but missed the second to send West Chester back to the charity stripe. West Chester made the two free throws, and Kutztown's three-point attempt at the buzzer didn't go to end the game.
 
In the second half, Kutztown shot 7-for-28 from the field (.250) and 1-for-13 from the three-point line (.077), and only missed two free throws in the final 20 minutes in its setback.
 
Sellars led the team with 12 points, nine coming in the first half run. He also grabbed a team-best seven rebounds, five coming on the offensive end. Tynell Fortune (Blakeslee, Pa./Pocono Mountain West (California (PA))) finished with eight points and a 6-for-6 performance at the free throw line.
 
Ridgeway aided in the point guard attack and dished out six assists in 20 minutes on the floor. Selby finished with five points and five rebounds and played hard on the low block for KU.
 
The Golden Bears get the opportunity to get back in the win column and play in a new environment in their next game. On Tuesday, Nov. 25, they take on nationally-ranked Philadelphia University at Martz Hall in Pottsville, Pa. for a 7 p.m. tipoff.