Box Score Kutztown 73, Bloomsburg 64 (HTML Box Score)
BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The Kutztown University men's basketball team overcame a 10-point deficit early in the second half with a 34-6 run spanning more than 13 minutes in a 73-64 road victory at Bloomsburg University on Wednesday night in the season-finale and a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division game.
The Golden Bears (10-16, 8-8 PSAC East) will be the sixth seed in the Eastern Division in the PSAC Tournament. They will play at third-seeded Bloomsburg (15-11, 10-6) again on Saturday, March 1 in the first round of the playoffs. Tipoff at Nelson Field House in the third meeting between the two teams is set for 2 p.m.
"I thought we defended their guards really well," head coach
Bernie Driscoll said. "If we are going to make a deep run, we need to continue to make things difficult for other teams with our defense. I know it is tough to beat a team three times in a row, but I am really happy with how we are playing defensively."
Bloomsburg held its largest lead of the game at 37-27 with 18:40 left in the second half. Kutztown responded to the double-digit deficit with a 28-point run to take an 18-point, 61-43 lead with 4:59 to play in the game. Kutztown shot 14-for-22 during the run, and forced Bloomsburg to shoot 2-for-14 from the field and commit eight turnovers.
Offensively, Kutztown shot a season-best 57.4 percent from the field while playing without two of its starters due to injury. Defensively, Kutztown has won its last five games in which it held its opponent to 70 points or less.
Freshman
Martin Dietrich (Maytown, Pa./Donegal) had his best game of the season on Wednesday night. He scored 18 points with five three-pointers, as many as he had made all season (25 games) entering the game. 10 of his points came during the run.
"Martin is a great shooter, and when he hit that step-back three-pointer, I knew he was feeling it tonight," Driscoll said. "Tonight was a great example of him coming off the bench and being ready to play. We have not been able to get him as many minutes as we would like, but he has worked really hard on both ends of the floor."
Sophomore Tracy Peal led the team in scoring with 21 points, his third 20-point game in his last five games. He shot 9-for-13 from the field and also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Notably, Peal has scored more than his season average in each of his last five games. Freshman
Josh Johnson (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) finished with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting with five rebounds.
Fred Dukes IV (Pottstown, Pa./Pottsgrove (Community College of Philadelphia)) had another great game as the starting point guard. He dished out a career-high eight assists for the second consecutive game and finished with seven points and five rebounds with only one turnover.
Bloomsburg honored six seniors in its lengthy pre-game ceremony. It was led by senior Dontahe Jordan's double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds in 38 minutes. He helped Bloomsburg out-rebound Kutztown 36-28 and 14-5 on the offensive glass. Fellow senior Ed Hall was the only other double-digit scorer with 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting in 18 minutes.
The Golden Bears swept the regular season against the Huskies with their pair of victories. Kutztown will be looking for its first playoff victory since the 2009-10 season, when it posted a 25-6 record and advanced to the NCAA Atlantic Region Tournament.
