SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Kutztown University men's basketball team, looking for its second straight road win against a nationally-ranked opponent, had its second-half rally fall short in a 94-82 defeat at Shippensburg University Wednesday night at Heiges Field House in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East Division action.
 
The Golden Bears (8-10 overall, 6-6 PSAC), who were victorious over No. 12 West Chester away from home in their last game, looked for back-to-back ranked wins on the road. The Raiders (15-3, 11-1) were receiving votes in the NABC Coaches Poll, but appeared at No. 22 in the D2SIDA rankings.
 
KU's 82 points is the second-highest total that Shippensburg has given up this season and just the third team to eclipse 80 points this year.
 
The Maroon and Gold tied a season-best with five different players record double-digits in scoring. For the first time this season, sophomore Kyree Generett (York, Pa./William Penn) led his team in scoring, finishing with 16 points. It is the third consecutive game that Generett has finished in double-figures. The York native shot 7-for-12 from the floor and added three rebounds.
 
Tarojae Brake (Coatesville, Pa./Octorara) and Wesley Butler (Reading, Pa./Reading) each scored 14 points for the Golden Bears. Brake grabbed a career-high nine rebounds, while Butler added four rebounds and three assists as the duo were the only KU players to go over 30 minutes. Senior Josh Townsend (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter) recorded 12 points and eight rebounds, and freshman Michael Smith III (Chester, Pa./Chester) tallied a career-high with 11 points, going perfect from the floor (4-for-4 overall, 1-of-1 from three and 2-2 from the free-throw line).
 
Kutztown found itself tied with Shippensburg twice early in the first half, at 2-2 and 4-4, but never could take a lead throughout the contest. The Raiders used an 11-3 run over the final 3:23 of the first half to head into the locker rooms at halftime leading 48-35. Ship shot 70.4-percent (19-of-27) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, and made it tough on the KU defense.
 
Shippensburg's advantage hovered around the double-digit mark for the first 13-plus minutes of the second half, until Kutztown used an 11-3 run of its own in a 2:41 span to cut its deficit to just six points, 75-69, after a Brake three-pointer with 6:23 remaining. The Raiders went on an 8-0 run over the next 1:18, however, to retake its hold on the game and finish this one out.
 
Ryan 'Boz' Bernstein (Bronx, N.Y./Marianapolis Prep) finished with seven points and tied a season-high with two steals, while also dishing out two assists. Akello Mosby (Philadelphia, Pa./Carver) contributed six points and four rebounds, hampered by foul trouble, and Facundo Arens (Buenos Aires, Argentina/Bahia Blanca) recorded two points, two rebounds and one assist.
 
Kutztown concludes a three-game road trip when it travels to take on Shepherd University this Saturday, Jan. 25, at 3 p.m., in a PSAC East matchup.