LAKEWOOD, N.J. -- In a battle to the very last second, the Kutztown University men's basketball team (1-3) fell to Georgian Court (1-1) 70-67 thanks to a three pointer as time expired Saturday night at Wellness Center Arena.
Clint Wright Jr. was the hero for the Lions, as he sank his eighth and final three pointer in transition with one second remaining after Jalen Bryant (Edgewood, Md./John Carroll) had tied the game seven seconds prior. It came after the Golden Bears went on a 7-0 run, all from Bryant, in the final two minutes of the game to tie the game at 67 before Wright Jr.'s shot.
KU started the game fast and led by as much as 10 points thanks to a Yahmir Satterfield (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter) three at the 7:13 mark of the first. The Golden Bears went into the half up nine despite shooting sub-40% from the floor.
KU's lead grew to 14 just over three minutes into the second half before the Lions started to mount a comeback. With 5:28 left in the game, Georgian Court tied it for the first time since the 16:50 mark of the first half. A Cameron Edmonds jumper gave the Lions the lead with 3:14 left in the second, as the Lions amassed a seven-point lead with two minutes left. Then came the KU comeback, led by seven straight points by Bryant, before the final three to end it.
Bryant led the way for KU with 17 points and seven boards while going 6-8 from the charity stripe. Satterfield and Kameron Roberts (Townsend, Del./Middletown) were the other Golden Bears in double figures, with 14 and 11 points respectively. Freshman center Tyler Koenig (Waldwick, N.J./Pioneer Academy) started and had his best game of the season, grabbing 11 boards while netting eight points.
For the first time this season, the Golden Bears led in points off turnovers (19-15), second-chance points (11-5), and bench points (21-16). The Lions were lethal in transition, netting 17 points to KU's seven. The Golden Bears shot 39.7% from the floor, with a 27.8% mark from three, while Georgian Court shot 44.1% from the floor and an impressive 43.5% from three. The Lions made eight threes in the second half on 13 attempts.
The Golden Bears wrap up the early season non-conference road trip against Goldey-Beacom on Tuesday, Nov. 21. Tip-off from Wilmington, Del. is slated for 6 p.m.
