Sloppy play plagues Golden Bears

Kutztown Golden Bears 67
Millersville Marauders 80

Recap: The Golden Bears took a lead late in the first half and led by 1 at the break, but a turnover-filled night ended with a 13 point Millersville victory. The Golden Bears relinquished their brief hold on the game with 17:39 left to play and would never recover. The loss drops KU to 16-8 overall this season and could prove costly as the Marauders are now just one-half game behind them in the division.

Telling Stat: KU shot a respectable 41 percent in the game and out-shot the Marauders from the three point arc (despite making just 3 of their 13 attempts) and the free throw line. They out-blocked the Marauders by 5, out-assisted them by 1, and out-rebounded them by 1. So, what was the problem? Mistakes. The Golden Bears committed 8 more turnovers and 7 more personal fouls. That proved to the difference in the game.

Key moment: Still not convinced fouls were a big problem? KU was down by just 5 points following a Ryan Washington layup with 5:05 to play. The Marauders would answer by outscoring KU 20-12 the rest of the way with 12 of those 20 points, including 9 straight, coming from the charity stripe.

Most Valuable Golden Bear: This should come as no surprise, but Dave Ben carried the scoring load against last night. Aside of his 8 turnovers, Ben had a decent game. He was 10-of-18 from the floor and 7-of-8 from the free throw line. He scored a game-high 29 points and filled out his boxscore with two assists, a pair of offensive rebounds, a block, and a steal.

Least Valuable Golden Bear: Ever since missing time with an injury a few weeks back, Stephen Dennis has not been the same superstar scoring threat for the Golden Bears. While not the worst player on the court last night, Dennis is not matching the expectations he brought on himself by scoring in the 30s several times this season. Last evening, Dennis was just 3-of-7 from the floor for 7 points, committed 4 fouls, and turned the ball over twice. He had just 1 board, 1 assist and 1 steal. KU is going to need more from him down the stretch.

Impact: The loss drops KU to 8-2 in the PSAC East and jeopardizes their chances of hosting a playoff game for the second consecutive season. Millersville now sits just one-half game behind the Golden Bears with both teams still needing to play 9-1 Cheyney. The results of those games could decide home court. Look for a deeper look at the playoff race later today.