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KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University men's basketball team travels to face Bloomsburg University on Wednesday, Feb. 26 in the regular season finale for the Golden Bears beginning at 7:30 p.m. This game doubles as a tune-up for the first round match-up between these two games in the first round of the PSAC Championship Tournament.
 
The Maroon and Gold (9-16, 7-8 PSAC East) clinched the postseason spot with an 87-80 win against Shippensburg on Saturday. Kutztown shot 53.1 percent from the floor and had six players score in double figures. Now the team will look for a sweep against a Bloomsburg team (15-10, 10-5) it beat 72-61 after overcoming a 21-point deficit.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Golden Bears clinched a spot in the PSAC Championship Tournament by defeating Shippensburg, 87-80, in a home game Saturday afternoon. On Senior Day, the Golden Bears saw their youth shine, with five of their six players in double figures being either a freshman or sophomore. John Johnson led all KU scorers with 21 points, while Antonio DePina (Bear, Del./Polytech) (12 pts) and Brandon Bridy (Pottsville, Pa./Pottsville Area) (10 pts) both set career-highs. The Maroon and Gold shot 53.1 percent from the field and set a season-high with 23 assists. Fred Dukes IV (Pottstown, Pa./Pottsgrove (Community College of Philadelphia)) made a team-high eight assists.
 
THE PEAL DEAL: Sophomore forward Tracy Peal leads Kutztown with 16.6 points per game. His production increased since averaging 14.0 points per game during the 10 games in 2013. In the 15 games in 2014, he has six games with 20+ points and four double-doubles. On the flip side, he has scored in single digits only once (eight points at West Chester on Feb. 8). He is shooting 71-of-92 (77.2 percent) from the free-throw line in 2014. Peal scored 11 points in the first game against Bloomsburg, making all three of his free throws.
 
DOUBLE J, DOUBLE DIGITS: Freshman forward Josh Johnson (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) reached double figures for the 20th time this season when he scored 21 points against Shippensburg. 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 fourth honor as PSAC East Freshman of the Week. Johnson averages 13.0 points per game and shoots 61.9 percent from the field (second in PSAC).
 
NEED THE THREE: The Golden Bears are looking for a boost shooting from deep, owning a PSAC-worst 28.3 percent for the season from three-point range, the only team with a shooting percentage below 30 percent. Sophomore guard/forward Ryan Connolly (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton Area) converted 39 of the team's 83 three-point field goals (47.0 percent). Redshirt freshman guard Elijah Jackson (Pottstown, PA/Pottstown) ranks second on the team with 14.
 
RELIABLE RYAN: 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. The sophomore recently missed the last two games with a shoulder injury, so he will need to return to get an opportunity at setting the school record.
 
SHOW ON THE ROAD: With Kutztown finishing the regular season at the sixth seed in the PSAC East, the team will need to travel on the road for every game in the conference tournament. The Golden Bears can secure a winning season on the road with a win in the upcoming game, but they will finish with a .500 record with the loss. KU finished 2-12 on the road last year.
 
Looking in the Other Corner: the Bloomsburg Huskies
 
AIR JORDAN: Redshirt senior guard/forward Dontahe Jordan leads the team with 14.5 points per game. He has scored in double figures in 10 of his last 11 games, including at least 16 points in each of his last four games, making him a consistent offensive threat. Jordan also averages 8.6 rebounds per game. He tallied seven double-doubles in the last 11 games.
 
CHRISTMAS ALL YEAR: Redshirt senior guard Lorenzo Christmas will likely be the key offensive threat from deep. He set the school record for three-point field goals, now with 230 for his career. He ranks second on the team with 14.2 points per game and does so on 44.1 percent shooting from three. He has 12 games with at least 15 points scored this season.
 
HEY THERE, COACH: Huskies head coach John Sanow is in his eighth season with the program, owning a 90-123 record in that time. Sanow gave the Huskies a share of the PSAC East crown two years ago and led the team to a 19-9 record overall. His assistant coaching experience includes stops at Division I schools like Vermont and St. Francis, Pa.