KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University men's basketball team weathered a physical battle from one of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference's best teams, handing the Shepherd Rams a 71-65 loss on Saturday afternoon inside Keystone Arena.
The Golden Bears (8-18, 4-15 PSAC) overcame its size disadvantage with physical, well-rounded guard play from several different contributors, a battle that the Rams (16-10, 12-7 PSAC) had to handle all game and one that hurt them in the final seconds of the game.
The first half was a close affair – 32-29 in favor of the Rams – despite an 11 point Shepherd lead early in the game. Kutztown was able to even the playing field with a spread out scoring attack led by Josh McKoy (Reading, Pa./Berks Catholic) (8 points) and Yahmir Satterfield (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter) (6 points), and a more mobile defense than the Rams could collectively handle.
The second half saw a bit of a spark from Shepherd, but scoring stretches were limited as both defenses clamped down on their opposition. Kutztown outscored the Rams, 42-33, in the second frame and shot an efficient 46 percent from the field and a perfect 18-for-18 on free throws. The back-and-forth battle kept the crowd interested until the very last seconds, as the score was tied at 65 with 11 seconds to go after a layup from senior guard Jalen Bryant (Edgewood, Md./John Carroll), who would be key to the game's final decision.
Shepherd's Chase Paar, one of the staples of their size strength, had 14 first-half points and two commanding blocks before getting into foul trouble late in the game and earning himself one of two technical fouls issued to the Rams following his fifth foul of the game. The other technical foul was issued to head coach Justin Namolik with mere seconds remaining amid a collective frustration from the Shepherd side.
Bryant, a career 87.5 percent free throw shooter who is shooting a career-best 89.1 percent from the stripe this season, was sent to the line to take six free throws in the final five seconds of the game, and as he has done all season, the Edgewood, Md., native drained all six and put the game away for Kutztown.
The free throws capped a 19 point performance for the senior guard, a mark that was boosted with his 13-for-13 free throw clip. Amir Cunningham (Middletown, Del./Middletown) (14 points), Satterfield (11 points) and Jaiden McGhee (Townsend, Del./Middletown) (10 points) chipped in as significant contributors on the night, with Cunningham adding six rebounds, Satterfield shooting a perfect 3-for-3 from long range and McGhee draining all four of his free throws.
The defensive efforts not shown in the box score are also to be commended, as Juju Pagan (Tobyhanna, Pa./Pocono Mountain West) and Kameron Roberts (Townsend, Del./Middletown) played significant time in roles that came available due to a shorthanded lineup.
The Golden Bears make one final road trip to East Stroudsburg on Wednesday, Feb. 26, where they will face the Warriors inside Koehler Fieldhouse at 7:30 p.m. They return home to Keystone Arena for their final matchup against West Chester on Saturday, Mar. 1 at 3 p.m., where the team's seniors will be honored.
