Men's Basketball
PSAC Quarterfinal

Kutztown at Mansfield
Tuesday, March 1, 2005

• Game Preview
• Results (Below)

NCAA Men’s Basketball
Tuesday, March 1, 2005

Men's hoops season ends with 95-90 loss at Mansfield

Mansfield University (18-10)    95
Kutztown University (15-12) 90
complete box score

MANSFIELD, PA – Kutztown University’s men’s basketball season came to a close with a 95-90 loss to Mansfield in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Quarterfinal at Decker Gymnasium.

             Bilal Salaam led four players in double figures for Kutztown with 23 points and eight rebounds.  Ty Brickus, Bobby Eberhart and Ben Arnold scored 12 points each.  Salaam had just one blocked shot in the game, tying for second all-time in Division II history with 408 blocks (Derek Moore, USC-Aiken, 1996-99). 

            David Hoopes scored 23 points, including five three pointers, to lead the Marauders, who advance to the semifinals at Edinboro Friday.  Brian Bryant score 21, while Jason Benson scored 19.  Justin Kress scored 11 points and led all players with 13 points.

            Mansfield hit 57% of its shots in the first half to open a 47-35 lead at the break.  An 11-2 run over two minutes late in the first half helped the Mountaineers take the double digit lead, as MU led by as many as 16, 43-27.

            Kutztown caught fire in the second half, hitting 59% of its shots after the break.  The Golden Bears chipped away at the Mountaineers’ lead, which was as many as 14 in the second 20 minutes, getting the deficit below 10 with 16:00 left.  KUused an 8-0 run to make it 65-63 with 11:46 to play.  Dorian Sims scored five of his nine points, including three free throws to cap the stretch. 

            Mansfield, however, answered with a pair of free throws by Bryan and a layup by Carlos Collazo on its next two possessions, as Kutztown faltered with two turnovers.

             “When we cut it to two, we had momentum, but we just two really bad possessions,”  KU head coach Bernie Driscoll said.  “Mansfield took advantage of our mistakes.  From that point on, really, we were just trying to fight back and couldn’t get over the hump.” 

            MU’s lead was steadily between three and six until the 4:56 mark, when the Mountaineers started on a 6-0 run with three free throws by Kress and a trey by Hoopes made it 84-72 with 3:20 to play.

            Kutztown could come no closer than eight points, as Mansfield hit 8-of-14 free throws in the final two minutes.  A pair of layups by David Moyer in the last five seconds accounted for the five-point final deficit. 

            The loss brings an end to the career of Kutztown’s seven seniors – Eberhart, Salaam, Brickus, Moyer, Vince Pease, Tyler Reynolds and Ryan Eisenhart.  The senior class is the first at to reach the PSAC playoffs in three straight seasons. 

            “Seeing these guys play their final game is bittersweet,” Driscoll said.  “They’re great kids and we will certainly miss them.   Their mark on Kutztown basketball will last a long time.  They’ve set up a great foundation for us to be successful.  Being in the playoffs for three straight years, with three-straight winning seasons is a credit to what they have done for our program.”