KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The No. 6 Kutztown University men's basketball team held off a charging East Stroudsburg, 96-92, to clinch a First Round bye in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament with its 13th straight victory on Wednesday night in Keystone Arena. The Golden Bears will host a Quarterfinal game on Wednesday, March 1.
 
The win, coupled with a Shippensburg loss, allowed KU (17-2 PSAC, 21-2) to move into first place in the PSAC East by one half game with just three contests remaining.
 
Two East Stroudsburg (14-6, 16-9) free throws with 2:59 remaining cut Kutztown's lead to 88-86, but that is where Ethan Ridgeway (West Chester, Pa./Bayard Rustin) took over to close the game.

Ridgeway drove the length of the floor following the two free throws and found Josh Johnson (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) for a layup to push the lead back to four. He then made a layup and hit 2-of-2 at the foul line on back-to-back possessions for six-point leads, the latter coming with 1:23 to go to make the score 94-88.  
 
Two free throws and a KU turnover that led to a basket allowed ESU to make it a two-point game, 92-94, with just 24 seconds left, but Johnson hit two clutch free throws to close out the victory.
 
Ridgeway poured in a game and career-high 24 points and added eight assists to become just the fourth player in program history to surpass 400 career dimes.
 
Johnson led all players with 12 rebounds, to go along with 15 points, to record his third double-double in four games, as well as his team-leading seventh this season.
 
Anthony Lee (Willow Grove, Pa./Abington) also recorded a double-double, the fourth of his career, with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Ryan Connolly (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton Area) fell one rebound shy of making it three Golden Bears with double-doubles as he contributed 11 points and also tied his career-high with four steals. Notably, he went 4-for-4 at the free throw line to extend his consecutive free throws made streak to 27.
 
Howard Sellars (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville Area (Saint Peter's)) came one point short of making it five Golden Bears in double figures with nine points off the bench.
 
Kutztown continued its season of offensive prowess as it shot better than 50 percent for the 13th time and surpassed 90 points for the 11th time. The Maroon and Gold made 34-of-67 (50.7 percent) from the field, as well as 21-of-26 (80.8) from the foul line.
 
KU also held a 17-8 advantage in second-chance points and recorded 10+ steals for the 13th time this season.
 
Often times it was Rasheed Moore leading East Stroudsburg back into the game as he poured in 22 points on 9-of-9 free throws and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Kitt Najee Walls (16), Quindell Brice (13), Chris Bing (13) and Ryan Krawczeniuk (11) gave the Warriors five players in double figures.
 
Aside from three ties, Kutztown led throughout the entirety of the first half and built a game-high 11-point advantage, 46-35, when Connolly drained a trifecta to cap nine unanswered with 3:05 remaining. ESU closed within four, 52-48, on a Moore jumper at the buzzer though, and would carry that momentum into taking its first lead of the evening, 58-57, when Moore made a layup three minutes into the second half.
 
That would be East Stroudsburg's only lead of the game through, as KU quickly responded with a 9-2 run to regain an eight-point lead, 68-60, on a Lee layup with 12:03 to play. Despite the Warriors closing within one with the next seven points, ESU never managed to get any closer the remainder of the night.
 
Kutztown looks to match the 14-game win streak set by the 2009-10 that started the season 14-0 when it hosts Millersville for Senior Day this Saturday, Feb. 18 at 3:30 p.m. In addition to Johnson, Connolly and Sellars, seniors Austin Beidelman (Schnecksville, Pa./Parkland) and Martin Dietrich (Maytown, Pa./Donegal) will also be honored in the pregame ceremonies.