KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The last two games, the Kutztown University men's basketball team has taken on the phrase of 'cardiac kids.' KU had won two games in a span of three nights this week, both times scoring the game-winning point with no time left on the clock. It once again had a chance to do the same thing in its next contest, but fell just short, dropping a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East Division game to Shepherd Saturday afternoon at Keystone Arena, 65-63 in overtime.
 
It stopped a two-game win streak for the Golden Bears (6-10 overall, 3-7 PSAC).
 
Michael Smith III (Chester, Pa./Chester) received a pass racing towards the hoop on a fast break with less than 0:05 to go and a tie score at 61-61. The junior guard let go of his contested, floating layup just before the buzzer sounded, but it rimmed out. Just five days prior, senior Kyree Generett (York, Pa./William Penn) converted a layup as time expired to take down West Chester. Then last Wednesday night, freshman point guard Jalen Bryant (Edgewood, Md./John Carroll) drove to the hoop with the game on the line and his team trailing and was fouled with less than 0:01 to play. Bryant made both free-throws and KU left Bloomsburg victors.
 
Unfortunately, this time, the ball did not fall for the Maroon and Gold. In the overtime period, both teams struggled from the floor, but the Rams (5-8, 2-5) did just enough, outscoring the Golden Bears 4-2 to win the game. The two teams combined to go 2-for-15, but Shepherd went 2-for-2 from the charity stripe, and those two points proved crucial in securing the win. While neither team shot well, the Rams were 1-for-18 from three, KU did not help itself from the free-throw line, finishing 13-for-22 (59.1%), the third-lowest this season.
 
Bryant had another strong outing, tallying a team-high 19 points and adding five rebounds and four assists. Smith III finished with 11 points and Channick Nkoma (Libreville, Gabon/Lycee National Leon M'ba) recorded 10 points and seven rebounds. Robert Tucker (Philadelphia, Pa./Paul Robeson) had his first career double-double with 10 points and a career-high 11 boards. Akeem Taylor Jr. (Chester, Pa./Chester) had eight points and five rebounds. Kyree Generett (York, Pa./William Penn) and Winston Edwards (East Stroudsburg, Pa./Pocono Mountain East) rounded out the scoring for KU with three and two points respectively.
 
Kutztown remains on campus for its next game when it takes on the Shippensburg, the top team in the East, on Monday, Jan. 24, at 7:30 p.m.