LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Balanced scoring and strong defense was crucial on Wednesday night as the Kutztown University men's basketball team defeated Lock Haven University on the road in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) thriller, 77-76.
 
Kutztown (8-1, 6-1 PSAC East) and Lock Haven (8-3, 4-3) fought back and forth in a closely contested first half, with the Bald Eagles leading 40-35 at intermission. Both teams barely shot over 40 percent from the field in the half, but both teams improved on the offensive end as the game went on.
 
Trailing 55-48 with 11 minutes left in the game, the Golden Bears went on a 14-5 run in the next five minutes of the game to take the lead over the Bald Eagles, 62-60. After trading baskets for the next few minutes, KU got a huge steal from junior Josh Johnson (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) and a layup by Anthony Lee (Willow Grove, Pa./Abington) to push the lead to 68-65 with just three minutes remaining.
 
Lee followed up the layup with two steals in the next 25 seconds and Johnson slammed home a missed layup from Lee to give the Golden Bears a 70-65 advantage with 2:30 to play.
 
Kutztown seemed to have iced the game with free throws by junior Austin Beidelman (Schnecksville, Pa./Parkland) and Ryan Connolly (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton Area), extending the lead to 75-68 with just 43 seconds left, but Lock Haven fought back in the closing moments.
 
Lamin Fulton of Lock Haven hit a three-pointer with 25 seconds left to cut the lead to 75-71. After a few missed free throws by Kutztown, Lock Haven made a layup with nine seconds to go to cut the lead to 77-73. The Bald Eagles then swiped a pass and Fulton made another three-pointer to close the gap to one, but KU survived as time ran out.
 
Kutztown outscored Lock Haven 42-36 in the second half behind the scoring of Johnson, Connolly and Lee. It was the first victory for KU over Lock Haven since the 2012-13 season. The Bald Eagles had won the previous four matchups between the two teams.
 
KU had a balanced attack on the offensive end with seven players scoring seven or more points and no player scoring more than 11.
 
Connolly and Beidelman tied for the team-high with 11 points. Beidelman added five rebounds and was 6-of-8 from the free-throw line.
 
Lee scored 10, his fourth consecutive double-digit scoring effort, and grabbed eight rebounds and a career-high three steals. Johnson posted nine points and eight boards. Johnson upped his career-point total to 953, just 47 shy of joining the 1,000-point club at KU.
 
Senior transfer Will Adams (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep (McMurry)) played great in his first career action with the Golden Bears. He scored all nine of his points in the first half to go along with two rebounds and two blocks. Dan Cuevas (Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg) posted seven points, six rebounds and a season-high two steals.
 
Kutztown's defense was an integral part of the victory. It held Lock Haven to 42 percent shooting overall and 33 percent shooting from downtown. KU held a huge 17-6 advantage in second-chance points.
 
Fulton led Lock Haven with 14 points and five steals. Tracy Peal, a former Golden Bear, posted 13 points, seven rebounds and four steals. Ra'eese Hunt recorded 13 points and five rebounds.
 
The Golden Bears head to Shippensburg for their next contest on Saturday, Dec. 19 at 3 p.m., inside Heiges Field House.