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INDIANA, Pa. – The fifth-ranked Kutztown University men's basketball team had its historic winning streak snapped Sunday afternoon as it was upended in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship game by 13th-ranked Shippensburg University, 73-63, at Indiana University's Kovalchick Complex.
KU (26-3) looks ahead to the NCAA Selection Show Sunday night, March 5, at 10:30 p.m.
(video link).
Kutztown's winning streak was capped at 18, tied for the longest in program history with the 1917 championship team that went 18-0.
The game was tied at 54-54 with 6:36 to play, but a scoring drought of four points in 4+ minutes for KU allowed Shippensburg to take a six-point lead with 2:18 to play. Kutztown continued to attack the basket in the final minutes in an effort to close the deficit or get to the free-throw line, but KU was unable to draw within a possession in the final 4:00.
Three players scored in double figures in KU's lowest scoring effort of the season. Senior
Ryan Connolly (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton Area) led the way with 14 points and eight rebounds, including four 3-pointers to become KU's single-season 3-point record holder with 76 this year. Notably, Connolly guarded PSAC East Athlete of the Year Dustin Sleva and limited him to 11 points. Sleva scored 28 in each of the previous two meetings this year.
Dan Cuevas (Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg) scored 13 points with six rebounds, and
Ethan Ridgeway (West Chester, Pa./Bayard Rustin) had 10 points and five assists.
As a team, KU shot 38.6 percent from the field and 2-of-9 from the free throw line.
Shippensburg (25-5) shot 43.4 percent from the field, including 51 percent in the second half, and made 22-of-26 free throws – a difference of 17 attempted free throws between the teams.
KU once led by double-digits in the first half. It took the first lead of the game and ran out to a 24-14 lead. Leading by one at the 13:34 mark, KU went on a 13-4 run over the next four minutes. It buried three 3-pointers during the run and forced three Shippensburg turnovers to get out and score in transition.
An ensuing 10-2 run brought Shippensburg within two (26-24), but it was not able to gain the lead as KU took a 30-28 lead into the locker room. Once shooting over 50 percent more than midway through the half, KU survived the final minutes despite shooting 3-of-14 from the field to end the half.
Shippensburg took its first lead of the game in the opening minutes of the second half, embarking on a 13-3 run to take a 41-35 lead at the 15:10 mark. Shippensburg shot 6-of-8 during the run, while KU worked for point-blank looks but was unable to finish at the rim.
Ridgeway got KU back to a tie game with a layup and two fast-break assists to Cuevas to tie the game at 41-41, as the game remained close up until the final minutes.
