INDIANA, Pa. – A matchup between the defending champions from the two Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) divisions came down to the buzzer on Sunday afternoon at Kovalchick Complex, as No. 12 Indiana (PA) used a put-back with 0.1 seconds remaining to hand No. 8 Kutztown its first loss of the season.
 
Devon Cottrell rebounded an air-balled 3-pointer in mid air and in the same motion, put-back the game-winning layup to cap an unbelievable back-and-forth affair that was played within three points for the final 10:06.
 
Ahead by as many as six in the first half, Kutztown (6-1, 3-1 PSAC) took a 42-39 advantage into the locker room and scored the first basket of the break to go ahead 44-39, but Indiana (8-1, 3-1 PSAC) used a 20-5 run over the next 5:55 to establish a game-high 59-49 lead on a tip-in with 13:47 remaining.
 
KU took just 4:31 to respond with a 13-2 surge of its own as Anthony Lee (Willow Grove, Pa./Abington)'s layup gave the Golden Bears a 62-61 advantage with 9:16 to go.
 
The remainder of the game would produce nine lead changes and three ties.  
 
Three of those lead changes came in the final 47 seconds. With Kutztown going up 74-71 on a Lee tip-in at the 2:49 mark, IUP made two free throws before grabbing the lead back on Anthony Glover's jumper with 47 seconds showing.
 
Dan Cuevas (Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg) had the answer the next time down the floor as he rebounded a blocked shot and put up a layup to give KU its final lead, 76-75, with just 30 seconds left.
 
KU got the crucial stop it needed when it produced a steal off an Indiana offensive rebound the ensuing possession, but it gave the ball right back on a turnover and the Crimson Hawks called a timeout to set up the afternoon's final seven seconds. 
 
Cuevas was two points shy of a career-high as he led KU with 17 on 7-11 shooting and added seven rebounds. Lee also had seven rebounds and added 14 points and three steals.
 
With a game-high 10 assists, Ethan Ridgeway (West Chester, Pa./Bayard Rustin) finished one point shy of his second career double-double and moved into eighth place in program history with 262 career assists. He dished out 27 assists over three games this week, the most for a Golden Bear over a three-game span since Stephen Dennis in 2009.
 
Josh Johnson (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) neared a double-double of his own with 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds, as he moved into eighth place in program history in career points (1,347).  
 
Ryan Connolly (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton Area) also finished in double-figures with 12 points.
 
Cottrell's game-winner gave him a game-high 18 points, with Glover adding 17. Jacobo Diaz was two points shy of a double-double with 10 rebounds, and Brandon Spain went 9-10 from the line to finish with 11 points and a team-high five assists.
 
Both teams shot similar percentages from the floor and 3-point range, but IUP had a major advantage in free throw percentage as it made 94.1 percent (16-17) of its foul shots compared to Kutztown making 55.0 percent (11-20).
 
KU had a 26-11 edge in points off turnovers as it forced 19 turnovers and committed just 12. The Maroon and Gold also had the upper hand in the paint, where it outscored Indiana 42-28.
 
Kutztown will look to rebound next Saturday, Dec. 10 when it travels to yet another PSAC West opponent, Seton Hill, for a 3 p.m. tip.