Live Stats I VideoKUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University men's basketball team is a victory away from winning the school's sixth Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division championship. KU hosts No. 17th-ranked West Chester in its season-finale and Senior Night game Wednesday, Feb. 24 at 7:30 p.m. at Keystone Arena.
It is a winner-take-all affair between the Golden Bears (20-5, 17-4) and the Golden Rams (21-4, 17-4), with the victor taking home the Eastern Division crown. Kutztown is going for its first East title since 2012.
Both teams have already clinched first-round byes in the PSAC Tournament with their regular season performances. Kutztown will host a quarterfinal game on Tuesday, March 1 at 7 p.m. no matter the outcome of Wednesday night's game.
Kutztown is coming off an 80-55 win against Mansfield University on Saturday afternoon. The Golden Bears used a balanced-scoring attack against MU, with five players finishing in double-digit scoring. KU's offense was led by
Ryan Connolly (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton Area) who finished the night with 15 points and six rebounds.
Josh Johnson (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) chipped in 12,
Austin Beidelman (Schnecksville, Pa./Parkland) 11 and
Anthony Lee (Willow Grove, Pa./Abington) and
Anthony Selby (Jersey City, N.J./Williamstown (Burlington County CC)) both finished with 10 points. Beidelman and
Ethan Ridgeway (West Chester, Pa./Bayard Rustin) both finished with seven assists.
West Chester is winners of three-straight games with its most recent win coming against Millersville University on Saturday, 81-63.
Kutztown took the first matchup of the season against West Chester, picking up an 84-75 road-win back on Jan. 27 at Hollinger Field House. The Golden Rams were 16-2 and the No. 17th-ranked team in the country at the time. Lee scored 23 points and added seven rebounds to lead the way for Kutztown on offense. Johnson and Connolly both added 14 points with Johnson chipping in nine rebounds.
Kutztown enters the game with the second-rated offense in the PSAC, averaging 85.6 points per game. West Chester is ranked-second, averaging 82 points. West Chester has the fifth-ranked defense in the PSAC allowing 71.8 points per game. Kutztown is close behind at 10th, averaging 73.3 points. There should be a ton of offense on display, as Kutztown enters as the fourth-best shooting team in the PSAC (.482 from the field) with West Chester coming in at ninth (.446). KU and WCU are neck-and-neck in defensive shooting percentage. West Chester is second in the PSAC, holding teams to just 40.8 percent shooting from the field. Kutztown is right behind them in third, holding teams to 40.9 percent.
The Golden Bears have been led offensively all season by the trio of Johnson, Lee and Connolly. Johnson averages 14.7 points and 8.8 rebounds. Lee chips in 13.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per game while Connolly averages 12.4 points. Connolly continues to be one of the best 3-point shooters in the entire conference, sitting at second with a .459 (61-of-133) 3-point percentage.
West Chester is led by the 10th-rated scorer in the conference in freshman Malik Jackson who averages 15.4 points. The offense is rounded out by Matt Wiseley (12.2 points) and Avery Brown (10.8). Wiseley leads the team in rebounding, averaging 11 boards a game and on defense with 11 blocks and 42 steals.
Kutztown's Selby and West Chester's Wiseley will be the matchup to watch. Selby held Wiseley to 12 points and eight rebounds during KU's win earlier in the season. Wiseley, who averages a double-double on the year, was held to just five shot-attempts.
Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Keystone Arena. Women's basketball also celebrates Senior Night right before with a 5:30 p.m. tipoff. While the men are playing for a title, the women's game brings plenty of drama by itself; Kutztown needs a win to advance to the post season.
The Eastern Division field for the PSAC Tournament has already been set, but final seeding for the top-six teams will be determined Wednesday night. While KU and West Chester have sealed the top-two seeds and first-round byes, East Stroudsburg, Bloomsburg, Shippensburg and Lock Haven have also clinched a playoff berth and will play in PSAC first round games on Saturday, Feb. 27.
