MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – Kutztown men's basketball was within two possessions at halftime, but a sluggish second half doomed KU as it fell 73-60 at Millersville Wednesday night in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division game inside Pucillo Gymnasium.
 
Kutztown scored the game's first points on a layup by Jordan Nkoa Abessolo (Yaoundé, Cameroon/St. Maria Goretti (Md.)) 1:08 into the contest and also led 4-2 after Jaiden McGhee (Townsend, Del./Middletown) connected on a layup off a Jalen Bryant (Edgewood, Md./John Carroll) assist, one minute later. But the Marauders went on a 14-7 run to go on top 16-11. But KU answered with a run of its own, highlighted by a Bryant layup, two Juju Pagan (Tobyhanna, Pa./Pocono Mountain West) free-throws and a layup, and a Brent Ricketts Jr. (Seaford, Del./Seaford) 3-pointer, along with two free-throws to put the Maroon and Gold ahead 22-16 at the midway point of the first half. Millersville end the final 9:16 of the half scoring 17 of the next 22 points to lead 33-27 at halftime.
 
The Marauders then began to extend their advantage in the second half, getting on top by 13 (46-33) 4:50 into the half. Their lead swelled to as many as 21 in the middle of the half and it remained in double figures the rest of the way.
 
Ricketts Jr. led the offense with a season-high 15 points, his first double figure scoring night this season. He also added three rebounds and two steals. McGhee finished with 10 points and four rebounds. Bryant tallied nine points, two rebounds, a steal and an assist. Both Nkoa Abessolo and Pagan recorded seven points with the former grabbing four rebounds. Kameron Roberts (Townsend, Del./Middletown) and Amir Cunningham (Middletown, Del./Middletown) each contributed five points as Cunningham also led KU with six boards and three steals. Tyler Koenig (Waldwick, N.J./Pioneer Academy) rounded out the scoring with two points and two rebounds.
 
The Golden Bears fell to 7-16 overall and 3-13 in the PSAC.
 
Kutztown will remain on the road for its next game as it will look to take the season home-and-home with Bloomsburg when it travels to take on the Huskies this Saturday, Feb. 15, at 3 p.m.

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