KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University men's basketball team will be competing in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in school history on Saturday, March 12, as it takes on a familiar Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) foe in West Chester University at 8:30 p.m. at Wheeling Jesuit University.
Ticket prices at the Atlantic Regional can be purchased for either an individual session or for all-sessions. Individual session prices are $10 for adults and $5 for students and senior citizens. All-Session passes are available for purchase by calling 304-243-2053. Prices are $25 for general admission and $40 for reserved seating.
Kutztown (21-6, 18-4 PSAC) is the fourth-seeded team in the Atlantic Region and will face the five seed, West Chester (23-6, 17-5), for the third time this season. The Golden Bears defeated the Golden Rams in each of the previous two matchups. They won 84-75 at West Chester on Jan. 27 and were victorious at home in the PSAC East title game, 81-77.
In KU's first win over West Chester, redshirt-freshman
Anthony Lee (Willow Grove, Pa./Abington) led the way with 23 points and seven rebounds. Junior point guard
Austin Beidelman (Schnecksville, Pa./Parkland) chipped in with 15 points and junior forward
Josh Johnson (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) had 14 points and nine rebounds.
Lee led KU in scoring in the PSAC East title game as well with 16 points. Johnson recorded 15 points and eight rebounds. Senior
Will Adams (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep (McMurry)) had a near double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds in his only start of the season.
Kutztown heads into the NCAA Tournament coming off a heartbreaking two-point loss, 74-72, to Shippensburg in the PSAC quarterfinals. Shippensburg's Abe Massaley hit a game-winner with two seconds to play to knock the Golden Bears out of the PSAC playoffs.
Despite the setback in the PSAC quarterfinals, KU has won nine of its last 11 games and scored 80 or more points in each of its nine victories.
West Chester was just minutes away from winning the PSAC Championship last Sunday, but was upset by Mercyhurst, 70-67. The Golden Rams are 7-3 in their last 10 games.
KU hopes to exceed the 80-point mark on Saturday as it holds a 16-1 overall record when achieving that feat. It is also 11-0 when scoring 85 or more.
Kutztown and West Chester rank second and third, respectively, in the PSAC in scoring offense. KU scores 84.9 points a game, while West Chester sits at 81.5. The Golden Bears are second in the conference in defensive field goal percentage at 40.6 percent and the Golden Rams are fifth at 41.3.
The Golden Rams lead the PSAC in rebounding at 43.2 rebounds per game, while KU is right behind in second at 41.1. Kutztown ranks third in both assists per game (17.41) and blocks per game (4.74). West Chester is second with 8.97 steals a game.
The 2016 PSAC East Athlete of the Year, Johnson, has had a phenomenal season for KU in his junior campaign. He leads the Golden Bears in scoring average (14.8, 14th in PSAC), rebounding (8.6, fifth) and double-doubles (9). Johnson has scored in double-digits 23 times this season, including each of the last 11 games. He ranks fifth in the PSAC with a 53 percent mark from the field.
Lee is second on the team with 13.1 points per game and 4.8 rebounds per game. He leads KU with 42 steals (ninth in PSAC) and is the team's most efficient player with marks of 58 percent from the field, 45 percent from 3-point land and 88 percent at the line (second).
Redshirt-junior
Ryan Connolly (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton Area) is third on the team with 12.7 points per game and 55 assists. He leads KU with 63 3-pointers (sixth in PSAC) and is shooting 44.4 percent from downtown (third). Connolly has scored in double-digits 18 times this season and has hit at least one 3-pointer in 24 of his 26 games.
Beidelman and sophomore
Ethan Ridgeway (West Chester, Pa./Bayard Rustin) have provided great backcourt production for KU this season. Beidelman has started in all 27 games and is averaging 8.9 points a game to go with 3.8 assists a game. Ridgeway has come off the bench in 25 of his 26 appearances and has averages of 8.7 points and a team-high 4.2 assists.
Defensive stopper
Anthony Selby (Jersey City, N.J./Williamstown (Burlington County CC)) has started in 26 of 27 games for KU, providing 8.2 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. He leads the team with 34 blocks (fifth in PSAC) and has matched up against the opponent's top frontcourt player multiple times. Selby's defensive prowess has been a key to KU's success all season long.
Malik Jackson, the PSAC East Freshman of the Year, leads West Chester in scoring at 15.9 points per game and has hit 77 3-pointers (leads PSAC). Matt Wiseley, the PSAC East Defensive Player of the Year, is second in scoring at 12.0 points a game and leads the team with 11.4 rebounds per game (leads PSAC). Avery Brown and Matt Penecale each average over 10 points a game for the Golden Rams.
Kutztown will be playing in its seventh all-time NCAA Tournament game and has a record of 2-4 overall. Its previous appearances were in 1988, 2009 and 2010.
The Golden Bears would play in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 13, with a win over West Chester. The Atlantic Regional Final is set for Tuesday, March 15, at 7 p.m. All Atlantic Regional games will be played at Wheeling Jesuit University.
Atlantic Region Matchups #1 Wheeling Jesuit (28-3) vs. #8 Mercyhurst (21-8)
#4 Kutztown (21-6) vs. #5 West Chester (23-6) #2 West Liberty (27-3) vs. #7 Concord (22-9)
#3 Fairmont St. (25-4) vs. #6 Virginia St. (23-5)
