KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University men's basketball team was plagued with foul trouble throughout the full 40 minutes of play as it dropped its Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East Division opener 99-76 to West Chester University Saturday evening at Keystone Arena.
It was just the second loss this season at home for the Golden Bears (7-6 overall, 2-4 PSAC) and only the sixth in the last four seasons. They have now fallen to the Golden Rams for the third straight time after winning the previous seven meetings dating back to the 2014-15 campaign.
The Kutztown offense entered the game ranked second in the PSAC in scoring at 85.3 points per game (ppg), but struggled to get going until the second half. A large part was due to shooting just 34.4-percent (11-of-32) from the floor in the first half, but KU was also forced to be without a majority of its starters during that time frame due to foul issues.
All five starters, and sixth-man
Ricky Hicks (Coatesville, Pa./Polytech) all picked up at least two fouls in the opening half as head coach
Bernie Driscoll was forced to go deep into his bench for extended minutes earlier than he may have hoped.
Moe Williams (Townsend, Del./Life Center Academy) connected on the game's opening basket 0:22 in, and the two teams began trading baskets until West Chester went ahead 6-5 at the 16:24 mark. It then went on an 8-2 run the next 2:23 and took firm control of the contest, as it never trailed again, leading by as much as 20, the 55-35 halftime advantage it held.
The Maroon and Gold found themselves down by as many as 24, 64-40, just three minutes into the second half, but began to chip away slowly but surely. A 15-2 spurt through the next 4:42 set them up in striking distance, trailing 66-55 at the 12:28 mark.
But the Golden Rams burst to another 8-2 run to push themselves back to a comfortable 17-point edge with 10 minutes remaining.
Kutztown was just never able to get anything going offensively over the final 10-minute period as maybe a 10-day break was showing its rust.
Anthony Lee (Willow Grove, Pa./Abington) finished with a team-high 17 points, his 42nd straight game in double-figures. He also had eight rebounds, seven assists and two steals.
Hicks tallied 15 points and four rebounds, and freshman
Da'Quan Granberry (Linwood, Pa./Chichester) had a new season-high of 14 points and added four rebounds. Williams was the fourth Golden Bear in double-figures contributing 12 points and three rebounds.
Josh Townsend (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter) and
Austin Laughlin (Glen Mills, Pa./Garnet Valley) each had five points for KU.
West Chester sported five players that scored double-digits, including three that had 20-point games.
Kutztown hits the road for a non-conference game on Wednesday, Jan. 2, at 3 p.m. at Bowie State.
