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KUTZTOWN, Pa. - The Kutztown University men's basketball team hopes to advance into the NCAA Elite Eight for the first time in school history as it faces the fifth-ranked team in the nation, West Liberty University, on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in the Atlantic Regional final at Wheeling Jesuit University inside the McDonough Center.
 
Kutztown (23-6) will have to play some of its best basketball on Tuesday night if it hopes to advance to the Elite Eight. West Liberty (29-3) is playing in its seventh-consecutive Sweet 16 and has won four regional titles in the last five seasons.
 
KU advanced to the Atlantic Regional final and Sweet 16 by defeating two familiar Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) opponents in West Chester and Mercyhurst.
 
The Golden Bears defeated fifth-seeded West Chester for the third time this season in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, 76-63, and took down eighth-seeded Mercyhurst, 79-73, to advance to the Sweet 16 for just the second time in school history and first time since 2009.
 
The KU defense was excellent in the win over West Chester. The Golden Rams shot 31 percent from the field and were 0-for-15 from the 3-point line.
 
Sophomore Ethan Ridgeway (West Chester, Pa./Bayard Rustin) and senior Will Adams (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep (McMurry)) played huge roles off the bench in the win over West Chester. They tied for the team-high with 14 points each. Ridgeway was 8-of-9 from the line and had a team-high five assists. Adams posted his second double-double of the season with 14 points and a season-high 13 rebounds.
 
Ridgeway also led KU in scoring in its win over Mercyhurst as he posted team-highs of 17 points and five assists. He was excellent from the line once again as he went 8-of-8.
 
Redshirt-junior Ryan Connolly (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton Area) and redshirt-freshman Anthony Lee (Willow Grove, Pa./Abington) each scored 13 points in the win and iced the game for KU with clutch free-throws down the stretch. Connolly recorded four assists and was 5-of-6 from the line, while Lee posted two steals and sunk all five of his free-throws.
 
The second-seeded West Liberty Hilltoppers advanced to the Sweet 16 by taking down seventh-seeded Concord, 90-69, and sixth-seeded Virginia State, 84-74. All-American guard Seger Bonifant recorded 26 points in the opening round win and hit six 3-pointers. He then scored 34 points and hit four 3-pointers in the victory over Virginia State.
 
Kutztown will have to find a way to try to contain Bonifant as much as possible in the matchup as he is one of the top scorers and shooters in all of Division II. Bonifant ranks fourth in Division II with 25.2 points per game and ranks ninth with 3.4 3-pointers made a game.
 
Bonifant has scored 20 or more points in 24 games this season and has gone over the 30-point threshold nine times.
 
The Golden Bears will need to have their third-consecutive strong defensive game if it hopes to pull off the upset on Tuesday night. The Hilltoppers head into the contest with the top-scoring offense in all of Division II with 99.5 points per game. They are second in Division II with 12.3 made 3-pointers per game.
 
Kutztown has proven to be strong on offense as well this season as it ranks in the top-40 in the nation with over 84 points per game. It has one of the most balanced attacks in Division II with its top-six scorers averaging between eight and 14 points per game.
 
Junior forward Josh Johnson (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) leads the KU offense with 14.3 points per game and averages a team-high 8.4 rebounds a game. He has been in foul trouble in each of KU's past two games and will need to stay on the floor as much as possible if KU hopes to advance.
 
Lee and Connolly each average over 12 points per game this season. Lee is second on the team at 12.9, while Connolly averages 12.5. Lee leads the team with 45 steals, while Connolly has made a team-high 66 3-pointers.
 
Junior point guard Austin Beidelman (Schnecksville, Pa./Parkland) is averaging 8.8 points per game and is second on the team with 103 assists. Ridgeway leads the team with 120 assists and is averaging 9.2 points per game as KU's sixth-man this season.
 
Senior Anthony Selby (Jersey City, N.J./Williamstown (Burlington County CC)) has contributed on offense with 8.2 points per game, but his presence on the defensive end is where KU has benefitted the most. He ranks in the top-five in the PSAC with 34 blocks this season and has consistently matched up with the opposing team's top frontcourt player on multiple occasions this season.
 
Adams and Dan Cuevas (Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg) will be relied upon off the bench for Kutztown as they both provide valuable frontcourt depth. Adams is averaging 6.8 points and 4.7 rebounds, while Cuevas has posted averages of 6.1 points and 2.9 rebounds.
 
Bonifant is one of four players for West Liberty that averages over 10 points per game. Devin Hoehn is second on the Hilltoppers with 15.5 points per game, while David Dennis Jr. sits at 13.6 and Zac Grossenbacher averages 12.4.
 
Grossenbacher averages a team-high 9.5 rebounds per contest and Dennis Jr. averages a team-high 5.9 assists. Grossenbacher is also a strong presence on the defensive end with 69 blocks this season.

The winner of the Atlantic Regional final and Sweet 16 matchup heads to the NCAA Elite Eight, which takes place from Wednesday, March 23, to Saturday, March 26, in Frisco, Texas. Kutztown is seeking its first trip to the NCAA Elite Eight in school history.