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Men's Basketball
PSAC Basketball Playoffs
Final
Gannon 80, Kutztown 65
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Hammermill Center - Erie, Pa.
Gannon (27-3) 80
Kutztown (26-4) 65
BOXSCORE
ERIE, Pa.
— The Kutztown University men's basketball team came up short in
its bid for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference title, as
Gannon became the champions in their inaugural season in the
conference with the
80-65 win.
The game featured the PSAC's top scoring offense in KU (87.9 points per
game average) and the top scoring defense in GU (58.2 points per
game average).
The 28-point effort by
Stephen Dennis (jr. West Chester/Henderson) was not
enough to take down the stingy Golden Knight defense. Gannon
(27-3)
held the Golden Bears (26-4) to only 38.2 percent shooting from the
floor, well below the season average of 49.7 percent.
KU held a 28-16 advantage at the 8:36 mark after a jumper by
Ryan Washington (so. Philadelphia/Wissahickon). However,
GU responded with a 20-9 run to close out the half, capped with a
mid-range jumper by Joe Lindsey make it a 37-26 game.
The Golden Knights grabbed a 38-37 lead right out of the gate in the
second half on a Pierre Howard lay in at 19:43, their first
lead since 6-3 at 18:29 in the first half.
KU kept with GU until a George Johnson put them ahead for
good with a 46-44 advantage. Dennis knocked down a 3-pointer with
5:22 remaining to pull within one point at 57-56, however, a 23-9 run
by Gannon spelled doom for KU. Gannon got 12-of-23 points in that
run from the charity stripe, where they were 27-of-34 on the day.
Dennis, coming of back-to-back career-scoring games had a
double-double with his 10 rebounds to go with his 28 points.
Dave Ben (sr. Coatesville/Coatesville) knocked down three
3-pointers as he scored 14 points and brought down eight boards.
Andre Woodlin (sr. Philadelphia/Central), held to just
seven points, brought in four boards for KU and Washington added
four points and eight boards in limited time due to foul trouble.
In a span of three possessions late in the second half, Woodlin and
Dennis each made what appeared to be two-point layups turned out to
be offensive fouls and turnovers for the Golden Bears. The whistles
were used a lot on the night, as KU committed 30 with two foul-outs
(Washington and Dennis), while GU committed 22 fouls and two
foul-outs as well (Goldcamp and Howard).
Gannon was led on the offensive end by Kyle Goldcamp and
Lindsey with 16 points each and seven boards for Goldcamp. The
PSAC playoff MVP Tyler Stoczynski netted 14 points and 10
boards for a double-double.
KU will wait for Sunday night's Regional selections to see if they will move on for the
NCAA Atlantic Region tournament, which is set to start Friday March,
13.
Semifinals
Kutztown 103 Slippery Rock 90
Friday, March 6, 2009
Hammermill Center - Erie, Pa.
Kutztown
(26-3) 103
Slippery Rock (21-8) 90
BOXSCORE
ERIE, Pa.
—
Stephen Dennis (jr. West Chester/Henderson)
again scored a career-high
with 32 points and
Andre Woodlin (sr. Philadelphia/Central) hit the 1,000
career-point mark, as the No. 21 Golden Bears won 103-90 over
Slippery Rock to advance to the Pennsylvania State Athletic
Conference title game.
Dennis sparked the offense, scoring 28 of KU's 56 first-half points
on 11-of-14 shooting. KU (26-3) used runs of 11-5 and 12-4 to take a
56-44 lead into the break.
Slippery Rock
(21-8) chipped away in the second half, cutting the lead down to
68-63 with 12:41 remaining. However, a 3-pointer by
Dave Ben (sr. Coatesville/Coatesville) sparked a 10-2 run
for KU to pull away for good.
Ben knocked down five 3s
in the game to finish with 22 points, 13 coming in the second half.
Mark Bower (sr. West Deptford, N.J./West Deptford) finished
the game with 11 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double, while
Ryan Washington (so. Philadelphia/Wissahickon) chipped in
with 18 points and six boards.
The SRU offense was controlled by Denell Stephens with 25
points and nine rebounds, six coming on the offensive end. Maron
Brown was just as lethal, netting 25 points and bringing 11
rebounds.
The KU offensive shot a blistering 70 percent from the floor in the
first half (21-of-30) and 54.1 percent in the second half (20-of-37)
for a total of 61.2 percent. The 41 field goals were one shy of the
single-game PSAC playoff record set by Indiana (Pa.) in 1981, while
the 103 points are tied for fourth in the PSAC playoffs.
With a second-half 3-pointer, Woodlin joined teammates
Dennis and Ben in the 1,000 career-point club at KU, he
finished the game with 11 points.
His 3
with 8:57 left capped a 21-12 run that turned a four-point lead into
a 13-point cushion.
Dennis and Ben moved to the top of the KU single-season scoring
record with 622 and 620, respectively. Dennis moved into first for
single-season free throws made with 152, eclipsing Ben’s 148 set in
the 2006-07 season.
Gannon
was victorious over Cheyney, 69-50 in Friday nights other semifinal
match up.
KU will look to avenge an early season loss to Gannon in the PSAC
finals on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Hammermill Center.
Quarterfinal
Kutztown 97, Mansfield 86
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Keystone Hall - Kutztown, Pa.
Kutztown (25-3)
97
Mansfield (15-12) 86
BOXSCORE
KUTZTOWN, Pa.
—
Stephen Dennis (jr. West Chester/Henderson)
scored a career-high 31 points to lead the Kutztown University men’s
basketball team to a 97-86 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference
quarterfinal playoff win over Mansfield University Tuesday at
Keystone Hall.
Dennis netted 20
of his 31 in the second half as KU pulled away to win its first
playoff game in three tries at Keystone Hall.
The Golden Bears
(25-3) led by two at halftime, but Mansfield (15-12) took a
three-point lead early in the second half.
KU went on a
13-5 run, highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers from
Dave Ben (sr. Coatesville/Coatesville)
and
Andre Woodlin (sr. Philadelphia/Central),
and took a 54-49 lead with 15:10 left.
A technical called on Mansfield head
coach Rich Miller three minutes later helped build a 12-point lead
with 10:33 left.
Mansfield never got closer than seven
points from there on out.
Ben shot 6-of-12
from the floor to score 21 points. His six field goals — three were
from 3 — set the new school record for field goals in a career.
Ryan Washington (so. Philadelphia/Wissahickon)
scored 19 points and Woodlin had 17.
Dennis’ 31
points pushed him into fourth place all-time in scoring at KU.
The Golden Bears
scored 33 of their points at the free-throw line, including
Woodlin’s 11-for-12 showing at the stripe. Dennis was 8-of-11 and
Ben was 6-for-7.
From the floor,
KU shot 53.6 percent, besting Mansfield’s 45.1 shooting percentage.
Mansfield was
led by Ryan Callahan, who scored 27 points. Yuseff Carr scored 16
and had nine rebounds.
KU will travel
to Gannon University to play the No. 2 seed out of the Western
Division, Slippery Rock. Tip off will be at 5:30 p.m. Friday. The other PSAC
semifinal will feature Gannon, the No. 1 seed in the West, vs.
Cheyney, the No. 2 seed in the East.
The PSAC final
is set for 7 p.m. Saturday at Gannon University.
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