KU men’s rally falls short against No. 25 West Chester
The Kutztown University men’s basketball team climbed out of a 21-point hole to pull within two, with a chance to win in it in its final possession. But the ball just would not drop, and No. 25 West Chester University converted two shots from the free-throw line with 0:05 remaining to hold on for a 95-89 victory Saturday afternoon at Hollinger Field House in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East Division matchup of the division’s top-two teams.
In front of a raucous crowd, and after a threeweek break from their last game, the Golden Bears (8-2 overall, 4-2 PSAC) started the game slow, trailing 18-2 after the first 5:24 as the Golden Rams (10-0, 6-0) used a full-court press and man-to-man defense to slow down KU’s high-powered offensive attack. It’s first field goal came at the 14:27 mark.
West Chester forced KU into nine turnovers, and came away with six steals over the first 20 minutes. The Golden Rams shot 53.1 percent from the field in the first half, and had three players in double-digits in the first half, led by Frank Rokins (15 points), who energized his team and the crowd with two slam dunks.
Junior Dan Cuevas (Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg) kept KU afloat, scoring 14 of his 21 points in the opening half while Kutztown was forced to play a majority of that period without starters Anthony Lee (Willow Grove, Pa./ Abington) and Moe Williams (Townsend, Del./Life Center Academy) because of foul trouble.
The Golden Bears climbed to within nine (4738) at halftime. But just as they tried to claw back, the Golden Rams kept its foot on the gas, jumping out to a 7-0 run in the opening 1:41 of the second half. Kutztown found itself down by as much as 21 (72-51) with 13:16 remaining, but went on separate runs of 7-0 and 6-0 to pull to within just three points at 85-82 with 3:07 to go.
Lee, who tallied 26 of his game-high 34 points in the second half, connected on a 3-pointer with 2:30 left to cut the deficit to 87-85. KU had a chance to tie or take the lead, but missed a 3-pointer with under 0:30 left.
West Chester missed both free-throws and gave Kutztown another chance, but once again the ball would not fall on the ensuing possession, and Terrance Moore went 2-of-2 from the line with 0:05 on the clock to seal the victory.
Ethan Ridgeway (West Chester, Pa./Bayard Rustin) was the third Golden Bears player to record double-figures in scoring, finishing with 14 points. He is 13 shy of 1,000 for his career.
Women’s Basketball
In its final game of the 2017 calendar year, the Kutztown University women’s basketball team was bested by the West Chester University Golden Rams, 76-59, on Saturday.
For the Golden Rams, Porscha Speller continues to produce on both ends of the floor, leading the way with 25 points and 15 rebounds, her third double-double and sixth 20-plus point game of the season. As a team, WCU led for nearly 36-of-38 minutes, scoring 39 points off of 30 Maroon and Gold turnovers.
Kutztown has been plagued by slow starts of late, of which was certainly the case in this tilt with WCU holding a 16-8 advantage at the end of the first quarter. Out of the halftime break, it was again West Chester coming out with its foot on the gas pedal, increasing its nine-point halftime lead to 15 headed into the final quarter, a margin it would see to the finish line.
Alexis Smith (Dauphin, Pa./Central Dauphin) paced the KU effort, scoring a team-high 15 points in her first career start, securing her sixth game with double-digit points of her freshman campaign. Fellow frosh Rylee Derr (Lititz, Pa./ Warwick) filled up the stat sheet in this affair, chipping in 11 points of her own and collecting team-highs with eight rebounds, six assists and two steals.
The loss for Kutztown drops its overall record to 7-5 and its PSAC mark to 2-4 while the Golden Rams improve to 6-4 overall and 3-3 in the PSAC. KU returns to the comforts of Keystone Arena, where it is 6-1 this season, for its next contest, ringing in the New Year with a date with the Bloomsburg University Huskies on Jan. 3 at 5:30 p.m.