KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Jalen Bryant (Edgewood, Md./John Carroll) scored a game-high 24 points and
Jordan Nkoa Abessolo (Yaoundé, Cameroon/St. Maria Goretti (Md.)) recorded his fourth double-double of the season as the Kutztown University men's basketball team snapped a six-game slide with an 80-53 victory over Cheyney inside Keystone Arena Wednesday night.
The Golden Bears led wire-to-wire, pulling away in the second half to put away the pesky Wolves.
Nkoa Abessolo led all scorers with 11 first half points and grabbed eight of his game-high 15 rebounds. Despite shooting just 17.9% (7-of-39) in the opening 20 minutes, the Wolves (5-13) were within 24-23 with three minutes left following a pair of D'Angelo Lake free throws.
Kutztown (3-7) ended the half on a 5-0 spurt on a pair of dunks by Nkoa Abessolo and a Bryant free throw to take a 29-23 advantage to the break.
Bryant led the charge out of the locker room with five quick points. He hit a step back trey from the right wing before picking off a Lake pass and taking it for a fast break layup that gave the Maroon and Gold its first double-digit lead of the contest.
A 3-pointer from
Yahmir Satterfield (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter) increased KU's lead to 20, 53-33, with 13:27 to go. Cheyney never got closer than 17 the rest of the way and the Bears opened it up even further by outscoring the visitors 13-4 over the final 5:30.
Bryant topped the 20-point mark for the third straight game and sixth time in eight appearances this season. He shot 7-of-14 overall (2-of-8 3FG) and went 8-of-10 at the foul line. The graduate student guard added eight rebounds, three assists and a steal in 37 minutes.
Nkoa Abbesolo finished with a season-high 20 points and matched a season-high with his fourth 15-rebound performance of the year. The senior dominated the paint by making 9-of-14 from the floor.
Satterfield knocked down three 3-pointers on his way to 11 points.
Omari Banks (Middletown, Del./The Phelps School (Pa.)) had seven points and nine rebounds,
Josh McKoy (Reading, Pa./Berks Catholic) added seven points and
Tanner Zawada (Mahanoy City, Pa./Mahanoy City) had six.
Tobi Ogunbare (Dublin, Ireland/Lawrence (Mass.)) chipped in 10 rebounds and three blocks, helping KU own the glass by a 59-34 margin.
The Golden Bears won their 14th game in a row over the Wolves dating back to 2014. KU shot 46.9% (30-of-64) on the night and made seven 3-pointers.
Lake had 14 points and nine boards, and S.J. Hutchinson 10 points to lead Cheyney.
Kutztown returns to PSAC East play Saturday when it hosts Lock Haven at 3 p.m.
