NEWARK, Del. – The Kutztown University men's basketball team was tied at halftime and played within a possession for most of the opening 25 minutes of Sunday's non-conference road game against Wilmington University. Over the next 10 minutes, the Golden Bears dug down on defense and built a double-digit lead to carry them to a 70-61 win at the WU Athletics Complex.
Kutztown (3-3) and Wilmington (0-6) were tied at 29 at halftime as Wilmington kept itself in the game by shooting 46.2 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes. Tied for the ninth time of the game early in the second half at 36, Kutztown went on to score 21 of the next 30 points to lead 57-45 with 4:07 to play.
The lead was capped at 13 in the final minutes as KU shot 11-of-14 at the free throw line to end the game. KU shot 75 percent from the charity stripe on Sunday (18-for-24), and shot 56.5 percent from the field in the second half to finish at 43.6 for the game.
Senior
Tynell Fortune (Blakeslee, Pa./Pocono Mountain West (California (PA))) turned in a productive game from the shooting guard spot. He scored 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting with two three-pointers and a 4-for-4 afternoon at the free throw line. He also grabbed a season-high six rebounds and dished out four assists.
Fortune has scored in double figures in five of his opening six games as a Golden Bear, and now has 925 points in his career, dating back to his three-year career at California (PA).
Sophomore and fellow newcomer
Howard Sellars (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville Area (Saint Peter's)) led the team with 17 points including a 7-for-8 performance at the free throw line. He has scored 17 in each of his last two games and has posted double figures in the last three.
Sellars' impressive game off the bench led Kutztown to a season-high 36 bench points in building its first winning streak of the season. After combining for 40 bench points in its opening three games, KU has posted 94 combined points off the bench in its last three games, including two 35+ point efforts and an average of 31.3 per game.
Tracy Peal Jr. (Drexel Hill, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) scored 10 points off the bench and is two away from 800 in his career.
Josh Johnson (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) and
Tyler Brooks (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone) each grabbed a team-high seven rebounds, as Brooks finished with four assists and a career-high-tying five blocks. The duo combined for 11 points.
The Wildcats were led by a double-double from Shai Henry, who finished with 15 points and 17 rebounds. Tyaire Ponzo-Meek scored a game-high 18 points as the two leading scores combined for 13-for-27 from the field.
Kutztown returns to action and conference play on Wednesday, Dec. 3. It travels to Cheyney University on Wednesday for an 8 p.m. tipoff.
