Men’s team completes sweep of Mounties

Kutztown Golden Bears 94
Mansfield Mountaineers 91

Recap: Much like the women’s action earlier that night, the men’s team led by just 2 at the half before extending their lead during the second half. Unlike the ladies game, however, the men allowed the Mounties to sneak back to within 3 before the final whistle blew. Regardless, the Golden Bears took home a slim 3 point victory and all but sealed up a spot in the PSAC playoffs. The game was relatively even with both teams shooting almost exactly the same from the floor throughout the day. Both teams shot just under 36 percent in the first half, just over 57 percent for the second half, and just under 48 percent total.

Telling Stat: With both teams shooting so similarly, it was the other categories that made the difference in the game. The most notable statistic was the difference in free throw shooting. KU drew 9 more fouls than the Mounties and were 29-of-38 from the charity stripe, while MU was just 12-of-19.

Key moment: The Golden Bears led by 7 with under a minute to play, but allowed the Mounties to hang in the game until the final moments. Up just three with 27 seconds to play, Steve Coffey hit a free throw and Andre Woodlin followed with two of his own. That extended the lead to six and would prove to be the difference as MU’s Kevin Hill nailed a three pointer with 3 seconds left.

Most Valuable Golden Bear: David Ben was once again the leader of the pack for the Golden Bears. Ben was 5-of-12 from the floor for a game-high 25 points. He was 2-of-4 from beyond the arc and an extremely impressive 13-of-14 from the free throw line. As if that wasn’t already enough, he chipped in with 5 boards, 5 assists, and 2 steals.

Least Valuable Golden Bear: Kevin Hafera played 11 minutes and was 0-for-1 from the field. He had a rebound, assist, steal, and hit both of his free throws, but committed 3 personal fouls in limited action. It was not an awful day, but the least valuable day.

Impact: The Golden Bears improve to 7-1 in the PSAC East and are now a half game ahead of the Cheyney Wolves (who play Thursday). They are close to clinching a playoff berth and will likely do so following what should be an easy game on Saturday against the visiting Bloomsburg Huskies. Now that they’ve all but clinched a playoff berth, they will focus on a regular season PSAC East championship.

UPDATE: Cheyney won on Thursday which means they return to a tie with KU atop the PSAC East. Both teams have clinched playoff berths.