Video Replay
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Kutztown University men's basketball team used balanced scoring and a strong defensive effort to win its second consecutive non-conference contest to open the season on Wednesday night as it defeated the University of the Sciences 83-48 in Bobby Morgan Arena.
KU (2-0) finished the night shooting 51.6 percent (32-62) from the floor and 50.0 percent (11-22) from beyond the arch for its fifth game of making at least half of both its two-point and three-point shots since the beginning of the 2015-16 season.
Defensively, Kutztown held a second straight opponent to less than 35 percent shooting from the field as The Sciences' 48 points were the least by a Golden Bear opponent since Mercyhurst scored 43 on Jan. 4, 2015, a span of 49 games. KU had 15 steals, its most since recording 15 against West Virginia State on Nov. 9, 2012, a span of 118 games.
Josh Johnson (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) had a career-high six of those steals with six rebounds and a game-high 13 points as KU had five players score at least nine points - with four Golden Bears in double-figures – for the second consecutive contest.
Ryan Connolly (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton Area) and
Anthony Lee (Willow Grove, Pa./Abington) also had 13 points as each made three 3-pointers and grabbed three rebounds. Lee added three steals and two blocks, while Connolly had two steals and moved into a tie for seventh in program history with 159 career triples.
Austin Beidelman (Schnecksville, Pa./Parkland) was the fourth Golden Bear in double-figures, recording 10 points and a game-high four assists.
Ethan Ridgeway (West Chester, Pa./Bayard Rustin) led Kutztown with seven rebounds to go along with nine points and three assists.
Ricky Hicks (Coatesville, Pa./Polytech) and
Max Wagner (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) each had six points, and
Dan Cuevas (Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg) added five.
Will Gregorits led the University of the Sciences with eight points and a game-high nine rebounds.
The Sciences (1-2) scored the first basket of the evening just 10 seconds into the contest, but KU responded with the next 13 points over a span of 2:45 and the Golden Bears would never look back.
Lee began the flurry with back-to-back 3-pointers before Beidelman added a trifecta of his own. Cuevas then got in on the run with a basket, and Connolly ended the stretch with a layup to make the score 13-2 with 17:05 remaining.
The Sciences temporarily cut the deficit to five, 13-8, just 1:28 later, but again KU had the answer as the Maroon and Gold went on an 8-2 run to make the score 21-10 on a Johnson foul shot at the 12:23 mark, and the lead would remain at least nine the remainder of the night.
Later on, Kutztown ended the first half emphatically by scoring 14 unanswered over a span of 5:16 to grow the lead to as large as 44-18 before The Sciences finally broke a scoreless stretch of 6:51 with a jumper 1:02 ahead of the break.
KU begins its Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division title defense in Keystone Arena this weekend when it hosts California (PA) on Saturday, Nov. 19 and Slippery Rock on Sunday, Nov. 20 as part of doubleheaders with the women's basketball team. Both tips are scheduled for 3 p.m. after the conclusion of the women's games, which both begin at 1 p.m.
