KU Game Notes
Live Stats
Live Video
Bloomsburg Notes
PSAC Championship Central (with Bracket)
KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The fourth-seeded Kutztown University men's basketball team is set to open up postseason play in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament for the fifth season in a row, when it hosts fifth-seeded Bloomsburg University tonight, Monday, at Keystone Arena at 7:30 p.m.
Students with a valid ID from a PSAC school will receive free admission. For the general public, adult tickets will be $7 and student tickets will cost $2.
The Golden Bears (20-6 overall, 16-6 PSAC) won their 20th game this season overall in their last game, an 85-62 victory last Saturday, Feb. 24 at Lock Haven University. It is just the seventh time in program history to achieve the feat, the sixth time under head coach
Bernie Driscoll, and third straight season.
KU is 4-4 in its last eight PSAC playoff games over the last five seasons. It is hosting its first playoff game for the fourth straight season and fifth in the last seven. KU is 39-4 inside the friendly confines of Keystone Arena the last three seasons, including winning 21 of its last 23 games, and is 12-2 this season. The Maroon and Gold has won seven of the last eight games vs. Bloomsburg, and 16 in a row at home, dating back to 1/23/2002. But the last time these two teams met in the postseason, back on March 1, 2014, the Huskies were on the winning end of things, taking down KU 82-71 in the PSAC First Round.
In the regular season finale against the Bald Eagles, Kutztown had five players score in double-figures for the fifth time this season, led by 17 points from sophomore
Max Wagner (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge). The 17 points is a career-high for Wagner, who also grabbed nine rebounds.
Moe Williams (Townsend, Del./Life Center Academy) and
Anthony Lee (Willow Grove, Pa./Abington) both netted 14 points, and
Rafiq Marshall (Philadelphia, Pa./Simon Gratz (Cheyney)) and
Josh Townsend (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter) each contributed 10 points. Townsend also had eight rebounds and a career-high two assists in 23 minutes of action. Williams, who finished with 11 rebounds, recorded his fifth straight double-double, the most in the Driscoll era (2000-present). The redshirt-freshman was voted the PSAC East Freshman of the Week this week for the fifth time this season, and second week in a row.
Senior
Ethan Ridgeway (West Chester, Pa./Bayard Rustin), who leads NCAA Division II in assists per game (8.2), missed the Lock Haven game due to injury. But KU shared the distribution duties, totaling 18 team assists, with four players recording at least two, and eight had at least one. In his first career start, junior
Ricky Hicks (Coatesville, Pa./Polytech) finished with a career-high six assists in 24 minutes. Freshman
Kiyon Hardy (Philadelphia, Pa./The Shipley School) played in a season-high 22 minutes, ending his night with career-highs in points (seven) and rebounds (five), while dishing out two assists.
In their respective careers vs. Bloomsburg, Lee has averaged 20 ppg, six rpg, and three apg. Ridgeway has 12.9 ppg and 7.5 apg. Wagner has nine ppg and seven rpg, and is shooting 62% from field.
Bloomsburg (15-11, 11-11) fell in its regular season finale, 85-74, at Shippensburg. Four Huskies finished in double figures, led by Khary Mauras (21 points). Kyle-Michael Rose added 16 points. Nicholas King scored 12 points. The Huskies also received 10 points from Matthew Kachelries off the bench. Redshirt senior Christian Mortellite (nine points) was held in single digits for just the second time this season. He is seventh in the PSAC in scoring at 20.8 ppg.
The winner advances to the PSAC Quarterfinals on Wednesday, Feb. 28 at top seed East Stroudsburg University.
Live stats, live video and game notes will be available via the links above, which are also accessible on www.kubears.com.
