KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University men's basketball team began its Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division title defense with an 80-65 victory over California (Pa.) on Saturday afternoon at Keystone Arena.
 
With KU (3-0, 1-0 PSAC) leading by as many as 10 in the first half and by the score of 41-35 at halftime, California's Ramon Creighton hit back-to-back 3-pointers 30 seconds apart – the second one coming with 14:24 remaining – to pull the Vulcans within two, 44-46, for the first time since the 13:55 mark of the first half.
 
Just as they had throughout the first 25+ minutes though, Kutztown had the answer beginning with Ryan Connolly (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton Area)'s 3-pointer just 12 seconds later. The next two baskets were Josh Johnson (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) dunks to complete a 7-0 surge and all of the sudden the lead was back to nine in the span of just 2:04.
 
California made two free throws the next trip down the court to get as close as 46-53 with 12:20 left but could get no closer thanks in large part to three more Connolly triples over the next 4:02. The final one was his fifth 3-pointer in the span of 7:34 to put KU up 66-54 with 8:18 left, and the lead would remain double digits throughout the remainder of the contest
 
Connolly tied a career-high by making 6-13 from beyond the arch to move into sole possession of seventh place in the program annals with 165 for his career. He is now just four away from moving into sole possession of fifth place in program history as he finished with a game-high and season-best 20 points to go along with season-highs of six rebounds, four assists and two steals.
 
With 16 points, Johnson moved into tenth place on KU's all-time scoring list as he now has 1,293 points for his career. He grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season and also had career-highs of four assists and five blocks, as he became the seventh Golden Bear in program history with 100 rejections for his career.
 
Dan Cuevas (Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg) was one point shy of a career-high in points as he scored 13 of his 15 (on 7-10 shooting) before the break.
 
Anthony Lee (Willow Grove, Pa./Abington) was also in double-figures with 10 points while adding six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
 
Ethan Ridgeway (West Chester, Pa./Bayard Rustin) neared a double-double with nine points and a game-high eight assists and also had four rebounds and two steals.
 
Austin Beidelman (Schnecksville, Pa./Parkland) rounded out Kutztown's scoring with eight points, to go along with six assists, as six Golden Bears scored all 80 of the Maroon and Gold's points.
 
Despite shooting just 36.5 percent (19-52) from the floor, California (2-2, 0-1) remained within striking distance throughout much of the afternoon thanks in large part to making 11-23 (47.8 percent) from 3-point range, including 5-8 (62.5 percent) in the second half. The Vulcans also made 11 more free throws, 16-5, than KU and outrebounded the Golden Bears 38-34.
 
Kutztown forced 21 Cal turnovers though, which led to 23 points, and had a massive 46-16 advantage in points in the paint. The Maroon and Gold also assisted on 25 of their 33 made field goals.
 
Trailing 8-7 just 4:42 into the contest, KU scored eight unanswered, capped by Cuevas' layup to make the score 15-8 at the 13:13 mark, and would lead through the remainder of the afternoon.
 
That advantage grew to as large as 32-22 when Johnson made 2-2 from the line with 7:26 remaining, but California kept it within single digits and even got as close as three, 35-38, when Daniel Sapp drained a 3-pointer just 11 seconds before halftime.
 
Ridgeway had an immediate answer though, coming down the court and beating the halftime buzzer with a trifecta of its own to put Kutztown on top 41-35 at the break.
 
KU is back in action at 3 p.m. tomorrow, Nov. 20, as it hosts Slippery Rock as part of a PSAC doubleheader with the women's basketball team.