MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – The Kutztown University men's basketball team used the final seven minutes to climb back and distance themselves in a back-and-forth second half, and secure an 87-77 victory against Millersville University Saturday afternoon in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) game at Pucillo Gymnasium.
 
Trailing 62-60 with 6:47 to go, the Golden Bears (12-2 overall, 8-2 PSAC) went on a 27-15 run to secure their fourth consecutive win, after trailing by as many as 15 points in the first half, the largest deficit they have faced this season outside of an 18-point deficit they faced at West Chester on Dec. 30.
 
Redshirt-junior Anthony Lee (Willow Grove, Pa./Abington) led the way for KU. He recorded his second double-double of the season, scoring a team-high 24 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Lee also shot 8-of-8 from the free-throw line, and is now shooting 93.5 percent from the charity stripe, second in the conference. Lee also played all 40 minutes, the third time in the last four games he never left the court.
 
Senior Ethan Ridgeway (West Chester, Pa./Bayard Rustin) also had a double-double, his third straight. Ridgeway netted 22 points and dished out 10 assists. He now has 581 career assists, moving him into eighth all-time in PSAC history.
 
Kutztown struggled to find a rhythm in the first half. It had three turnovers and six missed shots before the first basket was scored, a layup by Ridgeway 3:42 into the game. On the other end, the Marauders (5-12, 3-8) were clicking on all cylinders. They scored 14 of the first 16 points and 19 of the first 23 to hold a 15-point lead just 5:18 in.
 
Kutztown had 23 total turnovers compared to Millersville's 15.
 
The Golden Bears chipped away throughout the next 14-plus minutes, but still trailed 46-37 at halftime.
 
Kutztown still trailed by double-figures early in the second half, down 51-41 before the first media timeout, but took its first lead of the game, 55-53 on a 3-pointer by senior Rafiq Marshall (Philadelphia, Pa./Simon Gratz (Cheyney)) with 10:23 left. Marshall was one of two other players that scored in double-digits, tallying 12 points and grabbing five rebounds. Sophomore Max Wagner (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) added 11 points and nine rebounds.
 
Millersville took the lead back at 62-60 with 6:47 left, but gave it up 0:32 later on a tip-in from redshirt-freshman Moe Williams (Townsend, Del./Life Center Academy) (six points, five rebounds) to tie the game, and KU never trailed for the remainder of the game.
 
Dan Cuevas (Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg) had eight points in the victory.
 
Kutztown returns home to take on Cheyney University on Wednesday, Jan. 17 at 7:30 p.m. at Keystone Arena.