KUTZTOWN, Pa. – In the penultimate Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East Division home game for the Kutztown University men's basketball team, the Millersville Marauders came away victorious, 80-63, inside Keystone Arena on Wednesday evening.
The Golden Bears (6-17, 3-15 PSAC) looked to feed off the home energy it has used to pull off big home victories throughout the 2025-26 campaign in its final midweek matchup of the season. While Kutztown was able to hang tough in the first half and even tie the game at 35 heading into the break, the Marauders (18-8, 13-6 PSAC) secured the win as it looks to improve on its positioning in the PSAC Championships, which the team clinched a spot in prior to today's win.
After Millersville started strong, the Golden Bears bounced back stronger at the halfway point of the first frame, going on a 16-4 run to go up by 12 with nine minutes left in the half, its largest lead of the game. The Millersville offense worked its way back in the game, with a high-scoring last few minutes tying things at the break.
Graduate student guard
Jalen Bryant (Edgewood, Md./John Carroll) drained three of his four threes in the first half to power the Maroon and Gold offensive attack into a tight fight with Millersville. The latest of those three baskets, coming with just over a minute to go in the period, secured his ninth point of the game, a mark that pushes him into fourth on Kutztown's all-time career scoring leaderboard with 1,703 points, just past forward Josh Johnson (2013-17). The Edgewood, Md., native finished the day with a team-high 21 points, his tenth 20-point game of the season.
Coming out of the locker room, Millersville found a way around the KU defense and efficiently put the ball in the basket on the way to a strong finish, one that saw them have four double-digit scorers. Kutztown, while remaining within reach with a more physical approach, didn't have the same luck it had in the first half on either end of the floor, paving the way for a Marauders victory.
Bryant's big scoring night saw him drain a team-high eight baskets from the field and add four rebounds. Senior forward
Jordan Nkoa Abessolo (Yaoundé, Cameroon/St. Maria Goretti (Md.)) had 15 points and seven rebounds against his former squad, while guard
Josh McKoy (Reading, Pa./Berks Catholic) put up 10 points and five rebounds in defeat.
Millersville's scoring efforts were led by guard Day Waters, who had 24 points, nine rebounds and four steals to lead his team.
Kutztown led the way in defensive rebounds (27-24) and three-point field goal efficiency, while both teams were within one field goal percentage point away from each other.
The Golden Bears will look to cap off its home slate on a high note when it hosts Senior Day on Saturday, Feb. 21, prior to its contest against the Shepherd Rams inside Keystone Arena. It concludes the season with a pair of road games against East Stroudsburg (Wednesday, Feb. 25, at 7:30 p.m.) and Mansfield (Saturday, Feb. 28, at 3 p.m.).
