Box Score



Bloomsburg 82, Kutztown 71 (HTML Box Score)
 
BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – With 5:20 to play, Bloomsburg University went on a 9-0 run to take an 11-point lead and eventually seal a 82-71 home playoff victory over the Kutztown University men's basketball team on Saturday afternoon in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) First Round game from Nelson Field House.
 
The Golden Bears (10-17) competed in the playoffs for the 11th time in the last 12 seasons on Saturday. It was the third time this season and the second time this week they faced the Huskies (16-11), winning the first two meetings by an average of 10 points per game. Unfortunately for KU, Bloomsburg used its third time as the charm to advance in the playoffs for the first time since 2002.
 
The first half played similar to Wednesday night, when Kutztown won 73-64 at Nrelson Field House, with Bloomsburg dialing up the defensive pressure late in the first half. With Kutztown leading 22-18 with 7:08 to play, Bloomsburg went on a 16-3 run as KU went more than six minutes without a field goal to take a 34-25 lead into the locker room.
 
As it had in the previous two games against the Huskies, Kutztown came out strong in the second half with a 13-4 run to tie the game at 38-38 with 14:35 to play. Bloomsburg countered later in the half with a 9-2 run in less than two minutes of action to take a 54-47 lead at the under-eight media timeout.
 
Beginning with 5:20 to play, Bloomsburg went on a 9-0 run as Kutztown missed all four of its shot attempts as Bloomsburg took a 67-56 lead, its largest of the game to that point.
 
Kutztown dominated shooting percentage at 49.1 compared to Bloomsburg's 34.4 percent, but Bloomsburg out-rebounded KU 47-31, including 23-8 on the offensive glass, and made 20 more free throws. In the second half, Bloomsburg shot 26-for-28 from the free throw line. Notably, there were 51 combined foul calls.
 
Sophomore Tracy Peal scored a team-high 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting with a team-high seven rebounds. It was his fourth 20-point game in his last six, and the sixth straight game he scored more than his average. He fought through contact all game including three and-one layups.
 
For the season, Peal averaged a career-high 16.9 points (seventh in the PSAC) and 6.3 rebounds per game. His 113 made free throws rank 12th in school history for a single-season, and he will enter his junior season with 748 career points.
 
Freshman Josh Johnson (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) scored in double figures for the 22nd game this season with 11 on Saturday. He also grabbed a team-best seven rebounds with three blocks. The four-time PSAC East Freshman of the Week averaged 13.2 points and a team-leading 6.9 rebounds per game in his first season in the Maroon and Gold. He shot 61 percent from the field for second in the PSAC and eighth in school history.
 
Redshirt freshman Elijah Jackson (Pottstown, PA/Pottstown) finished with 12 points and four assists, as fellow guard Fred Dukes IV (Pottstown, Pa./Pottsgrove (Community College of Philadelphia)) finished with nine points and five assists, his third consecutive game with five or more.
 
Sophomore Ryan Connolly (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton Area) appeared in his first game since Feb. 15 due to injury and scored six points off two late-game three-pointers. Notably, he shot 88.9 percent from the free throw line this season for second highest in school history in a single-season.
 
Bloomsburg's senior duo of Lorenzo Christmas and Dontahe Jordan led the way for the Huskies. Christmas scored 22 points, his first game in double figures against KU this season, with a game-high four three-pointers. Jordan scored 21 points with 12 rebounds, six offensive, and made all nine of his free throws.
 
The Golden Bears return nearly their entire team next season. It graduates Mike McCready (Bethlehem, PA/Freedom (King's College)), who had his career cut short due to injury, and returns senior Tyler Brooks (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone), who averaged 14 points per game in his first six before suffering from a season-ending injury. He is expected to receive a medical redshirt.
 
Kutztown had five freshmen on the floor multiple times this season, and should grow during the offseason with the added experience of competing in the playoffs and throughout a long collegiate season. It currently has nine freshman and two sophomores on its roster.