JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University men's basketball team picked up its sixth straight victory to open the season in a closely contested Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) battle that ultimately fell in the Golden Bears' favor, 96-90, on Saturday afternoon inside of the Pitt-Johnstown Sports Center.
 
KU (6-0) had its best shooting night from the floor since Feb. 18, 2015 – a span of 40 games – as it shot 63.8 percent (37-58) from the field. The Maroon and Gold also made 52.9 percent (9-17) percent from beyond the arc and 81.3 percent (13-16) from the charity stripe.
 
KU held the lead for 98.6 percent of the contest, with its largest lead ballooning to 18 points at the 16:40 mark of the second half. Despite having the advantage on the scoreboard for most of the contest, UPJ would not go down without a fight.
 
With 5:40 left, KU was up 87-72 after two free throws by Dan Cuevas (Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg). However, Pitt-Johnstown would pick up a head of steam and go on a 15-4 run led by A.J. Leahey to cut the deficit to 91-87 with 2:31 remaining.
 
After 1:24 of scoreless play, Kutztown efficiently used its time with 1:07 left in the game and manufactured an Ethan Ridgeway (West Chester, Pa./Bayard Rustin) layup with 39 seconds remaining, effectively eating up 28 seconds of the shot clock in the process.
 
After the layup, UPJ still showed signs of life with a made layup turning into an and-one opportunity, which it executed.
 
With the score at 93-90 with 23 seconds left, Kutztown would take possession and it was Ridgeway once again in action, forcing a foul and sinking both of the ensuing free throws to bring the score to 95-90.
 
Pitt-Johnstown would then go on to turn the ball over courtesy of an Austin Beidelman (Schnecksville, Pa./Parkland) steal, which then gave Ridgeway another opportunity at the line. After going 1-2 from the line, UPJ missed a 3-pointer and Anthony Lee (Willow Grove, Pa./Abington) pulled in the game's final rebound as Kutztown was victorious for the sixth consecutive game to open the season.
 
In the starting lineup for the first time this season, Ridgeway shined with a near triple-double stat line with team-highs of 21 points, eight assists and a season-high seven rebounds.
 
Josh Johnson (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) was right behind his teammate in scoring with 20 points on 9-10 shooting, and with six rebounds he became the fourth Golden Bear in program history to surpass 700 for his career.
 
Cuevas added 15 points and a career-high three steals, while Lee had 12 points and six rebounds.
 
Ryan Connolly (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton Area) sunk two 3-pointers to move into fifth place in program history with 169 for his career as he finished the game with 11 points.
 
Beidelman contributed 10 points to give KU six players in double figures, and Howard Sellars (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville Area (Saint Peter's)) provided seven points in his first appearance of the season to complete the Golden Bears' scoring.
 
UPJ was paced by Leahey, who finished with a game-high 36 points. Isaac Vescovi also turned in an impressive outing with 23 points of his own.
 
Kutztown will have a quick turnaround as they stay out west for a showdown with No. 12 Indiana University (PA) tomorrow, Dec. 3, at 3 p.m.