KUTZTOWN, Pa. -- The final score tells a different story from the chapters that led to it.
 
Despite being unable to enter the team event, the Kutztown University acrobatics & tumbling team produced 12 season-best heat scores and only trailed third-ranked and likely NCATA Championships qualifier Gannon by nine points at halftime in a 272.940-157.650 loss Saturday afternoon at Keystone Arena.
 
In a season full of firsts for head coach Karah Paull and her start-up program, this was perhaps the most encouraging performance yet. Yes, the Golden Bears won two meets against fellow first-year programs East Stroudsburg and Stevenson in early March but putting up comparable scores to one of the nation's true elites, Saturday, shows KU is on an upward trajectory with a bright future.
 
Gannon is battle-tested, owning wins over No. 3 Oregon, No. 4 Quinnipiac, No. 5 Hawaii Pacific, No. 8 Fairmont State and No. 11 West Liberty. The Golden Knights (7-1) swept all 19 heats during Saturday's meets, but the Golden Bears were right there with them into the second half.
 
Kutztown produced a season-best 8.95 in the acro heat of the compulsory event and followed that up with a 9.40 in the pyramid and a season-high 9.55 in the toss. They completed the event with their best overall score of the campaign, 34.350 (of a possible 40.000) and trailed by three points.
 
The Golden Bears (2-3) continued to perform at a high level in the acro event with two more season-bests. They totaled 9.35 in the 5-element and 8.75 in the 6-element, falling less than four points off the Golden Knights' pace.
 
A 9.55 in the open heat of the pyramid and an event total of 27.450 were both season-bests, as Kutztown went into the break with its highest first-half score of the season and trailing by just nine points, 95.75-86.70.
 
The synchronized and open toss each yielded positive results for KU, with a season-high 8.70 in the former and a season-high 9.30 in the latter. Once again, the Bears' 26.100 event total was their best of the season and the gap remained less than 12 points.
 
Gannon started to pull away in the tumbling event, scoring 9.00 or higher in 4-of-6 heats and 8.20 or better in the remaining two. Kutztown received season-best scores in the trio (6.000), quad (5.350), aerial (8.650) and open (8.300) heats with an event season-high of 44.850.
 
Gannon went on to score 93.79 in the team event, providing the final margin of victory.
 
Kutztown closes out its inaugural season at home next Friday, April 8, against East Stroudsburg.