Inability to score late, stop Simpson costs men’s team

Cheyney Wolves 81
Kutztown Golden Bears 75

Recap: Despite leading throughout much of the night, the Golden Bears shot just 33 percent in the second half, allowing the Wolves to take home a big PSAC East road win. KU led by as many as eight in the second half, but an inability to stop Cheyney’s Robbie Simpson coupled with poor shooting decisions down the stretch allowed the Wolves to steal the win.

Telling Stat: The 6’10” 230 pound Simpson had 17 points in the first half and 24 for the game on 8-of-11 shooting. KU had no answers for Simpson, resorting to Hack-a-Rob, which landed him 11 free throw attempts (he made 8). In all, KU’s big men (Hafera, Washington, Coombs, Bower) combined for 13 personal fouls, most of them while trying to contain Simpson.

Key play: In this game, it was actually a series of plays. KU led comfortably early in the second half, but the Wolves run midway through the half put them ahead for good. With 11:16 left to play, Dominique Curry stole the ball and dunked it home to get Cheyney within 2. Just 20 seconds later, Ed Braswell tied the game at 58-58. The Wolves then followed with a Curry layup, a pair of free throws off the hands of Dawud Morris, and a jumper from Curry to take a 6 point advantage. They would never trail again in the game.

Most Valuable Golden Bear: David Ben was spectacular out of the gate, propelling KU to an early 11-6 lead. He scored 9 of the teams first 12 points, including 2 dunks and a three pointer. Ben was much quieter after the hot start, but finished with 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting.

Least Valuable Golden Bear: See Telling Stat. Any player who attempted to cover Robbie Simpson fits into this category. The combination of Hafera, Washington, Coombs, and Bower was no match for the much larger Simpson, who handled them easily. For the first time this season, KU fans must be thinking what would’ve been had 6’10” Sean McKeon been available to play. (McKeon quit the team a few games into the season for personal reasons)

Impact: Cheyney’s win moved them ahead of KU for first place in the PSAC East. They now stand at 5-1, while the Golden Bears fall to 4-1. A win at East Stroudsburg (2-3) on Wednesday would bump KU back to a tie at the top of the standings, but they will likely need to win at Cheyney later this month if they want to win the division.