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KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University men's basketball team hosts Shippensburg University  on Saturday, Feb. 22 in the home-finale at Keystone Arena with a spot in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship Tournament on the line. Tipoff for Senior Day is set for 3 p.m.
 
Kutztown (8-16, 6-8 PSAC East) lost its first two opportunities to clinch, including a loss Wednesday night to Lock Haven, 91-85. In the loss, the Golden Bears saw four players reach double figures, despite the absence of Elijah Jackson (Pottstown, PA/Pottstown) and Ryan Connolly (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton Area) due to injury. Tracy Peal led the way with 18 points. The Maroon and Gold will look to replicate what they did in the first meeting against Shippensburg (2-22, 0-14), when KU won 62-58 last month on the road.
 
PSAC PLAYOFF PICTURE: Kutztown currently holds a 6-8 record in the PSAC East, ranking the team in sixth place in the division. The Golden Bears will be in the playoffs with one more win or one more Mansfield loss. However, with Wednesday's outcomes, Kutztown cannot improve its standing in the PSAC East. Mansfield owns a 6-9 record in the division, and the Mountaineers host Bloomsburg on Senior Day for their regular season finale.
 
LAST TIME OUT: With a chance to earn a spot in the PSAC Championship Tournament, the Golden Bears couldn't win despite a second consecutive game with at least 85 points scored. In a 91-85 Wednesday night to Lock Haven, Kutztown was compromised by Haven's 59.3 percent shooting (16-of-27) from the floor and 21 free throws in the second half. The Golden Bears scored 58 points in the paints, but they shot only 2-of-15 from three-point range.
 
SENIOR DAY: For the Senior Day festivities, Kutztown University will celebrate the career of forward Mike McCready (Bethlehem, PA/Freedom (King's College)). A two-year member of Kutztown men's basketball, McCready made his presence known as a team leader and loyal member of the program. Unfortunately, serious ankle and foot injuries forced his career to end this season.
 
THE PEAL DEAL: Sophomore forward Tracy Peal leads Kutztown with 16.5 points per game. His production increased since the first weekend of 2014, as he scored 20+ points six times and posted four double-doubles in his last 13 games. Also, he shot 68-of-85 (80.0 percent) from the free-throw line in the last 13 games, as opposed to 34-of-64 (53.1 percent) in his first 11 games. Peal scored 10 points in the first meeting against Shippensburg, his second-lowest scoring total since the calendar turned to 2014 (lowest: 8 pts at West Chester).
 
DOUBLE J, DOUBLE DIGITS: Freshman forward Josh Johnson (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) reached double figures for the 19th time this season when he scored 17 points against Lock Haven. Johnson's nine-game double-digit scoring streak this season was the longest by a KU freshman to start his career since Butch Hills, a KU Athletics Hall of Famer, did so in his first 10 games in the 1985-86 season. This week, he earned his third honor as PSAC East Freshman of the Week. Johnson averages 12.7 points per game and shoots 60.9 percent from the field.
 
NEED THE THREE: The Golden Bears are looking for a boost shooting from deep, owning a PSAC-worst 27.7 percent for the season from three-point range. Sophomore guard/forward Ryan Connolly (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton Area) converted 39 of the team's 78 three-point field goals. Connolly also gets the job done at the free-throw line, shooting 88.9 percent from the stripe. Ty Brickus owns the single-season record with his 89.7 free throw percentage in the 2004-05 season.
 
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 19.6 points per game rank fourth in the conference. He does this on 40.3 percent shooting from the field, including 37.2 percent from three. Lococo also averages 4.7 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game, the latter which leads the team.
 
SEEING RED ON D: One of the primary struggles for Shippensburg comes from the defense. The 76.46 points allowed per game ranks 16th in the PSAC, leading only Clarion (76.50 papg) and Mansfield (80.04 papg). Shippensburg's 638 field goals allowed is 2nd-worst in the PSAC, but the team ranks a more modest 12th in field goal percentage defense 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.