KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University men's basketball team fell 74-72 to Shippensburg University in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) quarterfinal Tuesday at Keystone Arena. Junior Abe Massaley hit a jumper with 1.5 seconds left to give the Raiders the victory.
The Golden Bears found themselves down by seven with 1:31 left to play but battled back to tie it before Massaley's winner.
The comeback started when
Ethan Ridgeway (West Chester, Pa./Bayard Rustin) split the defenders and put in a layup to make it 70-65 with 1:27 left in the game. After Massaley hit two free throws,
Anthony Lee (Willow Grove, Pa./Abington) answered with a 3-pointer to make it 72-68. A
Josh Johnson (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) layup made it a two-point game before
Ryan Connolly (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton Area) hit two free thows to knot it up at 72 with 29 seconds left to play. Shippensburg held the ball until the final second when Massaley's shot went in. A final heave by Kutztown would fall short.
KU now waits until Sunday, March 6 to learn if it is reaching a bid to the NCAA Atlantic Regional. The selection show will air live on
NCAA.com at 10:30 p.m.
Johnson led the Kutztown offense in scoring with 19 points and chipped in seven rebounds and two steals. Lee recorded his second double-double of the season with 13 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. Ridgeway added 13 points, six assists and five rebounds.
Anthony Selby (Jersey City, N.J./Williamstown (Burlington County CC)) finished with 11 points. Four Kutztown players finished the games with two steals. Kutztown held a 48-30 advantage for points in the paints.
The score was tied 12 times and had seven lead changes.
Justin McCarthur led the way for Shippensburg with 25 points. Massaley hit the game winner and finished with 16 points. The basket was the second consecutive last-second made shot to win a playoff game that Massaley has made in under a week. Tony Ellis and Dustin Sleva chipped in 11 and 12 points apiece. Shippensburg is headed to the PSAC Final Four agaisnt Mercyhurst Saturday.
Kutztown is looking for its season to continue in the Regional tournament where the Golden Bears have made two apperances.
