Cougars clinch Berks III title
Kutztown boys cap 10-0 run with wins over SV, Brandywine
LEESPORT » It didn’t follow Kutztown’s season script to this point, except for the end result.
The Cougars clinched at least a tie for the BCIAA Section 3 regular season title Friday night with a 58-51 win over host Schuylkill Valley.
A night later, Kutztown finished the job and an undefeated run through Berks III with a 60-37 victory over Brandywine Heights. In the win over Brandywine, Dane Fegely led all scorers with 19 and Lorencz Jean-Baptiste had a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
The Cougars went 10-0 in the division and are 18-2 overall with their regular season finale to be played against Upper Perkiomen.
How Kutztown got to 58-51 on Friday night bucked a seasonlong pattern on jumping on a opponent early and maintaining an edge. Instead, the Panthers (713, 3-6) showed up to play on the their home floor and took an early 9-2 lead. The hosts held the lead for a large chunk of the first half and trailed by only two points, 2422, at the break.
An 11-3 run in the latter stages of the third quarter was needed for Kutztown to finally seize control of the contest.
It was a spirited challenge, one that first-year head coach Ted Snyder welcomed as his team preps for a postseason run at the Berks League and District 3 playoffs.
“What’s been typical MO for us is playing with the lead,” Snyder said. “This was good for us. They started out hot and we trailed early . ... We haven’t really been in that many close games and it was nice to get an experience like that.”
Kutztown, as it has so often this winter, relied on the play of Lorencz Jean-Baptiste. The junior swingman posted a doubledouble with 27 points and 10 rebounds Friday night, on the heels of dumping 30 points on Oley Valley, and was a key look for his teammates during that thirdquarter spurt that created separation from a pesky host club looking to pull the upset.
“The guys look for him,” Snyder said. “He can create his own shot, inside or outside. he can gets offensive rebounds. He’s been option 1 and 1A.”
Jean-Baptiste got some major help from Brayden Eck, who scored 16 points. But that was fairly much it for sustained production. Schuylkill Valley’s effective 2-3 zone defense kept paint play to a minimum and forced the Cougars to hit perimeter shots, which they did with aplomb in forging that deciding third quarter run.
Tied at 28 three minutes and change into the second half, Eck and Jean-Baptiste scored eight of Kutztown’s next 11 points during a 2:23 span, with a 3-pointer from Ivan Fegely giving the Cougars the lead for good at 33-30.
The Panthers jumped out early on a pair of threes from Isaac Horne, who forged his way to a team-high 15 points. But JeanBaptiste responded with eight points in a 10-2 response run, including a pair of triples, the second of which gave Kutztown its first lead of the night at 12-11.
Schuylkill Valley cooled off during the second quarter, with only two field goals during an eightminute stretch, a subdued sequence that allowed Kutztown to take a slight edge into the locker room at the break.
Girls basketball
BRANDYWINE HEIGHTS 54, KUTZTOWN 46 » At Kutztown Jan. 31, Hannah Fenstermacher tallied 18 points, Skylar Miller scored 15, and Ashleigh Huhn had 12 in the Bullets’ eight-point win over the Cougars.
For Kutztown, Rachael McCoach scored 15 points. WYOMISSING 63, KUTZTOWN 29 » At Kutztown Feb. 1, the Spartans ran out to a 20-2 lead after one quarter and defeated the Cougars (19, 4-17).
Leah McAvoy scored 28 points and Myra Owens scored 13 for Wyomissing. For Kutztown, Maria Marmarou scored 13 points.
Wrestling
DANIEL BOONE 64, KUTZTOWN 9 » At Kutztown Jan. 31, the Blazers won the first seven bouts to build a 39-point lead and went on to defeat the Cougars.
Daniel Salguero (120) and Brady Barton (285) scored falls for Daniel Boone. Jake Sharadin scored a fall for Kutztown in the final bout at 113.