Live Stats | Live Audio | Game Notes
 
KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University men's basketball team travels to face West Chester University on Feb. 6 in a Saturday afternoon Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division game. Tipoff at Hollinger Fieldhouse is set for 3 p.m.
 
The Golden Bears (6-14, 4-6 PSAC East) will look to bounce back after suffering a heartbreaking 82-80 loss to Mansfield. Kutztown led by as much as 18 points and had all five starters score in double figures. Unfortunately, the Mountaineers shot 67.7 percent in the second half.
 
Meanwhile, West Chester (15-6, 8-3) won 86-74 against Millersville to remain in a second-place tie in the PSAC East. In the first meeting between the two teams, KU lost 85-71 at Keystone Arena.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Golden Bears failed to get back to .500 in the PSAC East after losing 82-80 to Mansfield on Thursday. Kutztown led by as much as 18 points and had all five starters score in double figures. However, the Mountaineers shot 21-of-31 from the floor (67.7 percent) in the second half to make up for that deficit. Joe Bell and Charles Pemberton combined to score 62 points for Mansfield, and they scored 41 of the team's 52 points in the second half.
 
THE PEAL DEAL: Sophomore forward Tracy Peal leads the Golden Bears with 16.1 points per game. His production is truly getting better as of late, as he surpassed the 20-point total four times in his last nine games. Also, he is shooting 41-of-51 (80.4 percent) from the free-throw line in those nine games. Peal currently is only one of 12 PSAC players with 16+ points per game. He scored eight points in the first meeting against WCU.
 
DOUBLE J, DOUBLE DIGITS: Freshman forward Josh Johnson (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) scored 13 points Thursday night. This marks his 16th game with 10+ points this season. Johnson owned a double-digit scoring streak of nine games to start the season, marking the longest streak 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 1985-86. A two-time PSAC East Freshman of the Week, Johnson averages 12.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. He's scored at least eight points in every game he finished.
 
LINE OF BAD LUCK: Kutztown's 72.9 opponent free throw percentage ranks third in the PSAC, behind only IUP (75.6 percent) and Seton Hill (73.5 percent). This falls right in the line with West Chester's free-throw shooting, as they rank sixth in the conference by shooting 72.9 percent. For the season, the Golden Bears 5.2 percent differential from the free-throw line, but they have been able to close that differential recently by shooting 81.5 percent over the last three games.
 
PSAC PLAYOFF PICTURE: Kutztown currently holds a 4-6 record in the PSAC East, ranking the team sixth in the division. East Stroudsburg leads the division at 10-1. Meanwhile, it's a close fight elsewhere in top six. Bloomsburg and West Chester rank second at 8-3. Lock Haven stayed in fourth place at 7-4 after defeating third-ranked ESU. Millersville ranks closely behind at fifth with a 5-5 record. The top six teams in each division make the PSAC Championship Tourney.
 
Looking in the Other Corner: the West Chester Golden Rams
 
SURGING OFFENSE: West Chester ranks second in the PSAC by averaging 81.0 points per game. This includes a pair of 100-point games that ended in regulation (v. Bowie State and at Mansfield). The highest scoring in part reflects a fast pace for many Golden Rams games. West Chester ranks 13th in the conference by allowing 75.1 points per game.
 
BALANCED SCORING: The Golden Rams have five players who average in double digits in points per game. Troy Hockaday averages 16.9 points per game to lead the team. The other four include: Eddie Mitchell (14.6 ppg), Cory Blake (12.9 ppg), Shannon Givens (11.7 ppg) and R.J. Griffin (10.3 ppg). WCU spreads its playing time well, with 11 players making a start.
 
HEY THERE, COACH: Golden Rams head coach Damien Blair is in his sixth season as head coach. He owns a 106-53 record so far at West Chester. Last year, Blair's crew earned the program's first 20-win season since 2002-03. Blair is the first Golden Rams head coach since J.F. MacGovern (1924-29) to earn a winning season in each of his first five years.