GREENSBURG, Pa. – After overcoming a double-digit halftime deficit for the first time since 2009 less than two weeks ago against Philadelphia University, the No. 16 Kutztown University men's basketball team pulled off a similar feat on Saturday afternoon, rallying from a nine-point halftime deficit to overcome Seton Hill for a 72-62 victory in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) action on Saturday afternoon.
 
KU (7-1, 4-1 PSAC) trailed by 11 just five minutes into the contest, and after coming back to tie it for a second time at 31-31, Seton Hill answered with 11-2 run to close the first half and take a 42-33 advantage into the locker room.
 
It took 6:01 for Kutztown to erase that deficit and finally take its first lead when Dan Cuevas (Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg) went 2-2 at the line to make the score 46-45. That was part of a 20-2 surge over a span of 7:06 that began when Ethan Ridgeway (West Chester, Pa./Bayard Rustin) grabbed a rebound and went the length of the court for a layup with 16:15 remaining.
 
Six Golden Bears scored in the flurry, which included 3-pointers from Anthony Lee (Willow Grove, Pa./Abington) and Ryan Connolly (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton Area), a tipin by Josh Johnson (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) and a steal and fastbreak layup by Austin Beidelman (Schnecksville, Pa./Parkland). 
 
Ridgeway put an exclamation point on the run with an offensive rebound and layup for a 60-47 lead at the 9:05 mark, and Seton Hill would not get no closer than eight the remainder of the afternoon. 
 
Lee had seven of the 20 points in the surge en route to a game-high 16 in just 24 minutes. He shot 7-12 from the floor and added a team-high six rebounds and three steals.
 
Connolly also had six rebounds and went 4-8 from beyond the arch with 13 points to move into a tie for fourth in program history with 176 career 3-pointers.
 
Johnson contributed 11 points on 5-7 shooting to go along with five rebounds and three steals.
 
Ridgeway gave KU four players in double-figures as he was two assists shy of his second consecutive double-double with 10 points. The PSAC leader in assists per game has now dished out at least eight in six consecutive contests, as well as seven of eight games this year.
 
Cuevas and Beidelman were each one point shy of double-figures with both scoring seven of their nine in the first half. Cuevas grabbed a team-high six rebounds, while Beidelman had three assists.
 
Kutztown won despite shooting 38.4 percent (28-73) – its lowest percentage in a win since January, 22, 2014 – thanks in large part to forcing 24 turnovers that led to 29 points. It is just the second time since the beginning of the 2013-2014 season that the Maroon and Gold have forced at least 24 turnovers. 
 
Seton Hill (5-4, 2-3) was led by Noah Davis, who had team-highs of 15 points and eight rebounds. Fernando Salsamendi also had 15, on 7-11 shooting.
 
SHU shot 47.4 percent (27-57) from the field but managed to go just 1-2 at the free throw line, compared to KU hitting 8-12.
 
Kutztown plays its final non-conference contest, and its only game over the next 20 days, at Bowie State on Sunday, Dec. 18 at 3 p.m.