KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Graduate transfer Ryan 'Boz' Bernstein (Bronx, N.Y./Marianapolis Prep) of the Kutztown University men's basketball team had his best game of the year, ringing in season-highs in points (22) and rebounds (seven), but a late East Stroudsburg spurt ended KU's night in defeat as ESU won the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East Division opener for both teams 71-63 Friday night inside Keystone Arena.
 
The Golden Bears (5-7 overall, 3-3 PSAC) were led by Bernstein, who finished with a game-high 22 points and seven rebounds. Freshman Wesley Butler (Reading, Pa./Reading) also reached double-digits with 17 points, and added four rebounds and two steals. Facundo Arens (Buenos Aires, Argentina/Bahia Blanca) fell one point shy of double-figures, ending his night with nine points and six rebounds.
 
Tarojae Brake (Coatesville, Pa./Octorara) had seven points and six rebounds, Josh Townsend (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter) tallied four points and nine rebounds, and both Michael Smith III (Chester, Pa./Chester) and Sean Griffin (Abington, Pa./Phil-Mont Christian Academy) recorded two points for KU.
 
Bernstein beat the halftime buzzer as he jumped up to rebound a missed shot and quickly put it back up before his feet touched the ground and before the horn sounded. There were a total of six ties and six different lead changes in the opening half of a back-and-forth game.
 
Bernstein then also connected on the first made basket of the second half, a three-pointer, and after a free-throw by the redshirt-senior moments later, KU held a four-point lead, 39-35, with 16:08 remaining. From that point, the Warriors (8-3, 4-2) scored the next seven points as the team's then traded blows for the next 10-plus minutes.
 
The game turned in favor of ESU with under three minutes to go. With the Maroon and Gold behind 61-59 with 2:16 left, the Warriors scored five straight in a span of 1:01, including a three-pointer in the corner in front of their bench that gave them a 66-59 advantage with just 1:15 to go, and they were able to hold on from there. ESU scored 10 of the final 14 points that were scored in the final 2:38.
 
Kutztown will finish a season-long, four-game home stretch when it returns to Keystone Arena on Monday, Jan. 6, to face Lock Haven at 7:30 p.m.