The Golden Bears (1-0 overall) got timely baskets and made key stops to extend their winning streak to 18 games in November and December. KU placed four players in double figures highlighted by Tamir Johnson and Eric Brennan, who scored a team-high 14 points each.
Steve Coffey added 12 points and Julius Gray scored all 11 of his points in the second half for Kutztown, which outscored Philadelphia 38-31 in the second half. The Golden Bears entered the season receiving four votes in the National Association of Basketball Coaches' (NABC) top 25 poll.
Make no mistake; this was a quality win for Kutztown, which held the Rams (0-1) to 41.5 percent shooting. Nick Christian had 18 points and Jimmy Connolly added 17 points for Philadelphia. J.J. Gundry pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds for the Rams, who were picked to win the Central Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) and advanced to the East Regional last season.
“I thought it was a great win for us,” Kutztown head men's basketball coach Bernie Driscoll said. “Anytime you beat a nationally-ranked team on the road is great. I thought we were resilient and we defended really well.”
After erasing a pair of seven-point deficits in the opening 20 minutes, Kutztown never trailed in the second half. The game was tied 29-29 at intermission. The Golden Bears charged out of the locker room by scoring 14 of the first 19 points of the second half to open a 43-34 lead with 13 minutes remaining following a Johnson jumper.
The Rams sliced KU's lead to 49-47 with 9:35 remaining. The Golden Bears answered with consecutive baskets from Johnson and Eric Henry to remain in charge. With the Golden Bears clinging to a three-point lead, Gray stepped up and made a huge basket with less than two minutes remaining that gave Kutztown some breathing room. Coffey and Henry made clutch foul shots to finish off the triumph.
“I thought Tamir played well for us,” Driscoll said. “We made a couple of adjustments after halftime which paid off for us. Eric played well and Julius had a strong second half. Also, our seniors came through for us after Philadelphia made a couple of runs at us. All in all, this was a nice way to begin our season.”
Kutztown continues its early season three-game road trip when it visits Wilmington University Thursday, Nov. 18 beginning at 8 p.m. at the Pratt Student Center.
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