KUTZTOWN, Pa.-- The Kutztown university men's basketball team (5-12, 5-7 PSAC) battled for 40 minutes, pushing one of the tops teams in PSAC to the brink, but ultimately fell 82-78 to No. 14/20 East Stroudsburg (15-3, 9-3 PSAC) in front of a rockus Keystone Arena Monday night.
Jalen Bryant (Edgewood, Md./John Carroll) lead the scoring for KU with 21 points while snagging four boards. Kyree Generett (York, Pa./William Penn) netted 15 points despite missing some of the second half with an injury. Generett later returned. Kyle Whippen (Arlington,Va./Westfield) set the tone physically in replacement of Robert Tucker (Philadelphia, Pa./Paul Robeson) down low, scoring 13 points while grabbing six rebounds.
Josh Samec (Tresckow, Pa./Hazleton) made some timely shots, scoring 11 points while making a team-high three threes. Ryan Glassmacher (Stewartsville, N.J./Bethlehem Catholic (Pa.)) (9), Kameron Roberts (Townsend, Del./Middletown) (2), and Jordan Harding (Bear, Del./William Penn) (2) rounded out the scoring for KU.
The Golden Bears came out of the gate hot, blitzing the Warriors with a 14-2 run to start the game. KU kept the pace going, shooting nearly 60% from the floor in the first half and amassing a 19-point lead with four minutes left in the half. The Golden Bears took a 51-37 lead into the half.
The Warriors settled down and found their as the second half began. ESU switch to a full court press nearly every possesion, forcing 15 second-half turnovers from KU. After struggling in the first half, the Warriors started to make more shoots and cut into KU's lead. A couple big baskets from the Golden Bears maintained the gap, but the Warriors took their first lead of the game with four minutes left.
A three-pointer with 1:18 left gave ESU a one-point lead, quickly followed up layup to make it a three-point game. A chaotic final sequence that included a foul by Brendan Boyle (Allentown, Pa./Notre Dame), followed flagrant two foul on Jaelen McGlone allowed ESU to pull away with two more free throws. The Warriors were then able to hold on for the 82-78 win.
Despite the loss, the Golden Bears showed promise and an extra edge when they needed it most. KU has a quick turnaround, hosting Bloomsburg on Wednesday, Jan. 25. That game will tip-off at 7:30 p.m.
