KUTZTOWN, Pa. -- An 11-day holiday layoff did little to slow the Kutztown University men's basketball team. The Golden Bears knocked down 11 of their first 12 shots and opened a 16-point halftime lead on their way to a 92-82 PSAC crossover victory over California (Pa.) Friday afternoon at Keystone Arena.
Jalen Bryant (Edgewood, Md./John Carroll) provided another offensive outburst with a game-high 28 points, giving him 57 in his last two contests, while
Kyree Generett (York, Pa./William Penn) and
Robert Tucker (Philadelphia, Pa./Paul Robeson) added 18 apiece.
Jordan Harding (Bear, Del./William Penn) gave Kutztown (4-6, 4-1 PSAC) four players in double figures, finishing with 12 points off the bench.
The Bears missed their first shot of the day, but went on a tear from there, converting their next 11 to lead 25-19 at the under 12 media stoppage. Tucker scored the first four points, Bryant canned a pair of 3-pointers, Harding chipped in six points and Generett five.
Cal (4-7, 1-4 PSAC) trimmed KU's lead to 28-27 on a bucket by Jermaine Hall, Jr., with 6:13 left, but the Bears responded with a 21-6 run to close out the half to take a 49-33 advantage to the locker room. Bryant had 14 points at the break and Harding 11, as the Maroon and Gold shot 64.5% (20-of-31) overall and 54.5% from 3-point range (6-of-11).
Tucker's layup 20 seconds into the second half gave Kutztown its biggest lead of the afternoon at 18, before the Vulcans attempted to get back into contention with a 17-6 run that spanned nearly six minutes.
Despite seeing their lead reduced to five, 55-50, with 13:46 remaining, the Golden Bears remained focused and knocked down big shots when needed to keep Cal at bay.
Kutztown scored the next five points to restore its double-digit lead, which it maintained most of the rest of the way. Cam Polak's three drew the Vulcans within seven with 7:08 left, but Bryant answered with one of his own.
Keith Palek III hit a three and finished off a Donald Whitehead, Jr., feed with a dunk to make it a six-point game, 78-72, with 3:47 to go. Bryant's number was called again, however, and the sophomore from Edgewood, Md., delivered his sixth trey of the game to stunt Cal's momentum.
Tucker and Generett got behind the Vulcan defense for dunk and a layup and KU hit enough of its free throws down the stretch to defeat Cal on the Keystone Arena hardwood for the third time in four meetings dating back to 2011.
Bryant shot 9-of-14, including 6-of-9 from beyond the arc. Tucker was nearly perfect from the floor, finishing 8-of-9 and totaled a game-high nine rebounds to finish one shy of his seventh double-double this season.
Generett supplemented his 18 points with a game-high seven helpers and four boards. Harding ripped down seven boards to go along with 12 points in 20 minutes.
KU cooled off a little from its scorching start, but still ended the day with a 55.7% shooting clip (34-of-61). Cal, which had five players score in double figures, converted at 44.9% (31-of-69).
Hall, Jr., paced the visitors with 22 points and Palek III added 19.
Kutztown travels to Pitt-Johnstown on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023, for its final regular season matchup with a PSAC West opponent. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
