KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University men's basketball team hosted the Pennsylania State Athletic Conference East Division-leading Golden Rams of West Chester, falling 73-53 on Girls and Women in Sports Day inside Keystone Arena on Wednesday night.
The Golden Bears (5-14, 2-12 PSAC) knew what a hard loss to its opposition felt like from a road defeat earlier this season, and it understood it would have to play a physical game to stay competitive. While it did just that for large portions of the game, the Golden Rams (17-5, 11-4 PSAC) were eager to get back in the win column, using a strong second half to retain control over the PSAC East.
Kutztown was able to make good things happen defensively in the first half, holding a stellar West Chester squad down as KU led by a pair 13 minutes into the game and only trailed the visitors by nine at the break. The Maroon and Gold held the long-range shooting of WCU in check during that time, as they hit just one of ten three-point baskets while going just 35 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes.
The Golden Rams quickly made up for that coming out of the locker room, connecting on five attempts from long range that helped build a 16-point advantage in the first nine minutes of the second half. As West Chester built on the lead through the remainer of the period and into the final buzzer, it benefited from a near 50 percent shooting mark from the field in the second half, as well as control of points and rebounds in the paint, two aspects that made a huge difference in the game.
Josh McKoy (Reading, Pa./Berks Catholic) and
Jordan Nkoa Abessolo (Yaoundé, Cameroon/St. Maria Goretti (Md.)) each led Kutztown with 13 points apiece. The former added six assists and went 7-for-8 from the free throw line, while the latter had four assists, three steals, and a 5-for-10 mark from the field. Forward
Andrew Hoadley (Easton, Pa./Easton) tallied four points and four rebounds in 18 minutes of play – his most action seen this season. Guard
Amon Fowlkes (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) had seven points, three rebounds and three assists in 31 minutes.
With its victory, the Golden Rams continue its reign atop the PSAC East Division standings, sitting just one game ahead of second-place East Stroudsburg. Kutztown sits two games out of the sixth and final playoff spot, and will require help from the two teams ahead of it – sixth-place Lock Haven and seventh-place Bloomsburg – both of whom will host the Golden Bears in the team's final eight games.
The Golden Bears will look to turn things around on the road against the Lock Haven Bald Eagles, as they will meet on Saturday, Feb. 7, at 3 p.m. inside Thomas Fieldhouse. It will return to Keystone Arena for a Wednesday night meeting with the Shippensburg Raiders on February 11 at 7:30 p.m.
