Lee nets 38 in loss to West Chester
KUTZTOWN, PA. » Kutztown University men’s basketball redshirt-junior Anthony Lee (Willow Grove, Pa./Abington) tallied a new career-high mark, dropping 38 points, but it was not enough for KU to take down West Chester University Saturday afternoon in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) action, as it fell 108-99 at Keystone Arena, ending a 19-game home winning streak.
The Golden Bears (15-5 overall, 11-5 PSAC) had won their last 19 games inside Keystone Arena, dating back to Dec. 30, 2016. They are 10-1 at home this season.
The two teams each got their fair-share of practice from the free-throw line, combining for 104 free-throws. KU finished 26-of-51 (51.0 percent) from the charity stripe, tying a school record for free-throw attempts set back in March of 2008. The 51.0 percent from the line is the lowest for KU this season. West Chester shot 37-for-53 (69.8 percent) at the free-throw line.
Lee did all he could to keep KU in this one.
Trailing by 12 points at halftime (52-40), the biggest halftime deficit at home this season, Lee scored 25 of his gamehigh 38 points in the second half. He shot 50 percent from both the field (8-of-16) and from three-point range (5-for-10), and also went 4-of-7 at the freethrow line over the course of the second half, but Kutztown just couldn’t get closer than seven points before the Golden Rams (17-4, 13-4) surged further ahead.
Behind 96-89 with 3:24 remaining, the closest margin since it was 44-37 with 2:52 left until halftime, West Chester would score the next seven points to go up 103-89, and outside of a Lee 3-pointer with 0:13 left, held it’s double-digit lead for the rest of the game.
West Chester shot 52.9 percent (9-of-17) from threepoint range, compared to Kutztown’s 29.2 percent (7of-24).
The 108 points were the most scored by the Golden Rams this season. They have averaged 107.5 points per game their last two games. The 99 points scored for KU is its second highest total this season, after scoring 135 in the season opener against Penn State Schuylkill on Nov. 11.
In a back-and-forth first half which featured five lead changes and four ties, the score tied was tied at 33-33. West Chester then went on a 9-2 run to go up by seven, and then stretched its lead to 12 points at halftime. The run continued into the second half, and capped at 22-7 over a 6:09 period of time.
Ethan Ridgeway (West Chester, Pa./Bayard Rustin) recorded a double-double, scoring 17 points and adding 12 assists to along with five rebounds. Moe Williams (Townsend, Del./Life Center Academy) was one rebound shy of a doubledouble, tallying 13 points and nine rebounds. Facundo Arens (Buenos Aires, Argentina/Bahia Blanca) also reached double-figures, netting a season-high 10 points.
Women’s basketball
Outscored 47-29 in the first 20 minutes, the Kutztown University women’s basketball team struggled with a high-powered West Chester University attack, falling to the Golden Rams, 93-69, on Saturday afternoon at Keystone Arena.
WCU scored the first seven points and outpaced the KU offense to open the game, holding a 24-10 lead after the first quarter of action. The Golden Ram attack continued to fire on all cylinders in the second stanza, posting 23 points compared to the Golden Bears’ 19. Mia Hopkins, Camden Boehner and Lexi Bruno posted 11, 10 and 9 points, respectively, in a first half where it seemed anything that West Chester fired up, fell.
The full-court pressure applied by WCU, who extends its winning streak to 12 in-a-row, was equally as effective as its offensive attack, forcing 11 first-half turnovers and scoring 16of-47 first-half points off Golden Bear miscues.
Rylee Derr (Lititz, Pa./ Warwick) led the way for Kutztown, scoring a total of 15 points on 4-of-6 shooting from distance. Taylor Thames (Colmar, Pa./ North Penn) joined Derr in double-digits with 11 points, making 5-of-7 attempts from the field, adding two assists, one steal and one made free throw. Keifonna Ferguson (Norristown, Pa./ Norristown Area) nabbed five offensive rebounds, finishing with eight boards and five points to lead the Maroon and Gold’s effort on the glass.
Wrestling
The Kutztown University wrestling team won 9-of10 bouts, cruising its way to a convincing dual victory over the East Stroudsburg Warriors, 34-4, on Friday night, winning its fifth straight dual.
Austin Petril (Clifton Heights, Pa./Upper Darby (Ursinus)), currently ranked third in Super Region One, set the tone to begin the match starting at 125 lbs. in a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Victor Lopez. After a first-period takedown for Petril, the two battled it out to the finish, but Petril held off Lopez for his sixth straight win, putting KU ahead 3-0. Petril’s win was the 50th of his collegiate career, a milestone for the senior native of Clifton Heights.
Christopher Crane (Manahawkin, N.J./Southern Regional) and Anthony Petril (Clifton Heights, Pa./Upper Darby (Ursinus)) then won each of their bouts at 133 and 141 lbs., getting the Maroon and Gold off to a ten-point advantage. Crane posted bonus points with a major decision (MD) win over Peter Nace, taking down Nace with ease on his way to a 16-7 MD. Anthony Petril (Clifton Heights, Pa./ Upper Darby (Ursinus)), much like his brother, had to work consistently during all three periods, recording a takedown in the final minute to finalize the 6-2 decision in his favor.
Austin Scrivani (Layton, N.J./Kittatinny Regional) at 149 lbs. and Mikey O’Brien (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) at 157 lbs. continued to tack onto the Golden Bear lead by each recording a decision over their Warrior opponent. Scrivani recorded the first Kutztown win of the match against a regionally-ranked opponent, defeating No. 7-ranked Blake Cohen. Scrivani and O’Brien won 14-7 and 106, respectively, controlling each of their bouts from the outset.
The Maroon and Gold’s lone defeat came to a very tough opponent, ESU’s Mike Racioppi, the No. 5-ranked wrestler in Division II at 165 lbs. Connor Rogovich (Cherry Hill, N.J./ Cherry Hill West) scored 10 points against Racioppi, but most of them were recorded in escapes as Racioppi was in control for the entirety of the match, winning 22-10.
Kutztown then showed its ability to close, winning the final four matches to claim the 34-4 win, its second PSAC dual victory of the season. James Meyer (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown East) won over Dillon Warner 6-2 at 184 lbs. and Jeff Reimel (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) won his fourth consecutive bout at 184 lbs. shutting out Paul Rallis, 8-0. Both Meyer and Reimel claimed decisions over regionally-ranked Warriors, with Meyer besting No. 8 Dillon Warner and the No. 3-ranked Reimel holding serve against No. 7 Rallis.
Evan Kauffman (Bethlehem, Pa./Freedom (Lehigh)), wrestling at 197 lbs., pinned Daniel Makagon 1:59 into the first period for his first fall of the season. To close the match at 285 lbs., Ryan Appleby (Belvidere, N.J./Belvidere) put the finishing touches on the win with a dominating performance against ESU’s heavyweight Lous Ceras, winning by a 22-7 score, earning him the tech. fall and his team’s final five points.
In total, KU grapplers scored a combined 123 individual points compared to ESU’s 58, looking comfortable in their first win on the road.
Kutztown improves its record to 6-6 overall, getting back to .500 after being 1-6 just two weeks ago on Jan. 13. Coach Robert Fisher’s squad is rounding into form headed into its last two duals of the regular season, squaring up with Millersville and Shippensburg at Keystone Arena on Feb. 9 and 13. Super Region One Championships will follow on Feb. 23-24 in Johnstown.