ERIE, Pa. – Sophomore guard Ethan Ridgeway (West Chester, Pa./Bayard Rustin) hit two huge three-pointers in the closing minutes of regulation on Sunday afternoon, but it wasn't enough as the Kutztown University men's basketball team fell in overtime to Mercyhurst, 71-70, in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) matchup in Erie.
 
Following a closely contested first half, Kutztown (3-1, 2-1 PSAC) and Mercyhurst (3-1, 2-1) fought to the end of regulation in a back-and-forth matchup between two of the top teams in the PSAC.
 
KU was outscored by the Lakers, 37-36, in the first half of play, but managed to fight back in the second half, which proved to be a defensive battle between the two teams. Kutztown trailed 54-49 with eight minutes remaining in the game, but went on a 13-8 run to close out regulation and get to overtime.
 
Tied at 56-56 in regulation with 3:09 to play, Ridgeway hit a three-pointer for KU that gave it a three-point lead with 2:44 to go. Ridgeway went on to hit another big three for Kutztown with 31 seconds left in regulation that tied the game at 62-62 and pushed the game into extra time.
 
The five minute overtime had three ties and two lead changes, with Mercyhurst coming out on top at 71-70. With the game tied at 68-68 with 2:30 to play, Anthony Selby (Jersey City, N.J./Williamstown (Burlington County CC)) made a layup to give KU a two-point lead, but Gerrae Williams struck right back on the following possession with a three-pointer that gave the Lakers a 71-70 lead with 1:24 left in the overtime period.
 
Kutztown had multiple opportunities to retake the lead in the closing moments, but a missed layup, three-pointer and a turnover proved costly in the one-point loss. Mercyhurst played strong defense at the end of overtime, securing the victory.
 
Redshirt-junior Ryan Connolly (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton Area) recorded 17 points, nine rebounds and tied his career-high with two blocks for the Golden Bears. He has scored in double-figures in all four games for Kutztown and has shot 50 percent or better from the field in each game.
 
Ridgeway proved to be a force off the bench once again for KU, scoring 16 points, including the two big threes at the end of regulation. It was his third straight game with 14 or more points.
 
Josh Johnson (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) recorded 11 points, seven rebounds and two blocks. Selby scored six points and tied his career-high with four blocks.
 
Dan Cuevas (Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg) provided six points off the bench, while Anthony Lee (Willow Grove, Pa./Abington) contributed with five points and five rebounds.
 
Sean Beins led the Lakers with 20 points off the bench on 8-of-14 shooting and 4-of-6 from behind the arc. Damon Jones recorded 14 points and Gerrae Williams scored eight. Kayode Ajenifuja had six points and eight rebounds.
 
Kutztown returns to the court on the road at Millersville in a PSAC matchup on Tuesday, Dec. 1 at 7:30 p.m.