WEST CHESTER, Pa. – The Kutztown University men's basketball team climbed out of a 21-point hole to pull within two, with a chance to win in it in its final possession. But the ball just would not drop, and No. 25 West Chester University converted two shots from the free-throw line with 0:05 remaining to hold on for a 95-89 victory Saturday afternoon at Hollinger Field House in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East Division matchup of the division's top-two teams.
 
In front of a raucous crowd, and after a three-week break from their last game, the Golden Bears (8-2 overall, 4-2 PSAC) started the game slow, trailing 18-2 after the first 5:24 as the Golden Rams (10-0, 6-0) used a full-court press and man-to-man defense to slow down KU's high-powered offensive attack. It's first field goal came at the 14:27 mark.
 
West Chester forced KU into nine turnovers, and came away with six steals over the first 20 minutes. The Golden Rams shot 53.1 percent from the field in the first half, and had three players in double-digits in the first half, led by Frank Rokins (15 points), who energized his team and the crowd with two slam dunks.
 
Junior Dan Cuevas (Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg) kept KU afloat, scoring 14 of his 21 points in the opening half while Kutztown was forced to play a majority of that period without starters Anthony Lee (Willow Grove, Pa./Abington) and Moe Williams (Townsend, Del./Life Center Academy) because of foul trouble.
 
The Golden Bears climbed to within nine (47-38) at halftime. But just as they tried to claw back, the Golden Rams kept its foot on the gas, jumping out to a 7-0 run in the opening 1:41 of the second half. Kutztown found itself down by as much as 21 (72-51) with 13:16 remaining, but went on separate runs of 7-0 and 6-0 to pull to within just three points at 85-82 with 3:07 to go.
 
Lee, who tallied 26 of his game-high 34 points in the second half, connected on a 3-pointer with 2:30 left to cut the deficit to 87-85. KU had a chance to tie or take the lead, but missed a 3-pointer with under 0:30 left.
 
West Chester missed both free-throws and gave Kutztown another chance, but once again the ball would not fall on the ensuing possession, and Terrance Moore went 2-of-2 from the line with 0:05 on the clock to seal the victory.
 
Ethan Ridgeway (West Chester, Pa./Bayard Rustin) was the third Golden Bears player to record double-figures in scoring, finishing with 14 points. He is 13 shy of 1,000 for his career.
 
Rafiq Marshall (Philadelphia, Pa./Simon Gratz (Cheyney)) had nine points, three rebounds, two assists and three steals. Williams recorded four points and two rebounds, and Josh Townsend (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter) finished with two points, five rebounds and two blocks.
 
Four KU players had at least two steals (Marshall and Cuevas 3, Ridgeway and Lee 3).
 
This was the final game of 2017 for Kutztown. The Golden Bears return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 3 against Bloomsburg University at 7:30 p.m. at Keystone Arena.