SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. -- The Kutztown University men's basketball team pulled within six points with less than eight minutes to play in Saturday's PSAC East road game at Shepherd, but the Rams turned to the long ball --their bread and butter throughout the afternoon-- to pull away and send the Golden Bears to a 76-63 defeat at the Butcher Center.

Wesley Butler's (Reading, Pa./Reading) eighth 20+ point game this season kept KU in contention after it led throughout most of the first half, but The Golden Bears struggled to find their shooting touch, while the hosts poured in 13 3-pointers --second most by a KU opponent this season.

Kutztown (8-11, 6-7 PSAC) made it a two-possession game at 58-52 following a tough driving layup from Facundo Arens (Buenos Aires, Argentina/Bahia Blanca) with 7:22 left, but Jarrell Jones responded with a pair of 3-pointers around another from Thomas Lang over the next four minutes as Shepherd ran its lead to 15 with a 14-5 run and put a damper on KU's hopes.

The Rams' sharp-shooting duo provided problems for the Golden Bears all afternoon. Lang drained 8-of-14 shots, including 6-of-9 from downtown for 24 points --matched only in the game by 24 from Butler. Jones buried four treys and had 17 points as Shepherd's top scorers combined to go 10-of-19 from deep on a day the Rams finished 13-of-30.

Kutztown was just 3-of-15 from 3-point range, meanwhile, curbing its ability to capitalize on a 41-33 rebounding advantage and season-low seven turnovers.

Butler scored the game's opening points and Josh Townsend (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter) converted back-to-back layups as KU jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead less than three minutes in. Bernie Driscoll's club would lead for all but 1:21 of the first 15 minutes. Lang tied the game at 20 for the Rams with 4:35 left before halftime on a 3-pointer from the right wing following good ball movement. Shepherd took its first lead, 22-20, two possessions later on a pair of Jon Preston free throws.

The Rams were effective in defending Butler for long stretches of the first half, as the ultra-talented freshman was held scoreless following his opening layup until the 2:12 mark. Once the Reading High grad got going, though, he wasn't stopping. Butler scored Kutztown's final seven points of the first half, finishing the spurt with a pull up three from two feet beyond the arc just before the clock expired, to draw the Bears back within three, 33-30.

A traditional 3-point play from Butler with 15:15 to go put KU in front 39-38, but Lang answered with a three to put Shepherd in front for good.

Butler was the only Golden Bear to score in double figures. He also had five rebounds and two assists. Townsend pulled down a game-high eight rebounds and had six points, while Kyree Generett (York, Pa./William Penn) had nine points and Akello Mosby (Philadelphia, Pa./Carver) eight points and seven boards. Though they were an efficient 10-of-12 at the charity stripe, KU shot just 39.1% from the floor overall (25-of-64). Shepherd countered at 45.8% (27-of-59) and were excellent in the second half at 57.1% (16-of-28).

Kutztown doubled up the Rams in second-chance points, 14-7, and held a 32-22 edge in points in the paint. Shepherd outscored KU 39-9 from 3-point range.

Lang and Jones accounted for more than half of Shepherd's 76 points (41). Kyle Daggett added nine points and six rebounds, and Preston totaled eight points and a team-high seven rebounds. The Rams also protected the ball well with just three turnovers on the afternoon.

The Golden Bears will try to end a two-game slide when they return to Keystone Arena, Wednesday, to take on Bloomsburg at 7:30 p.m.