LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – The Lock Haven University men's basketball team (4-6, 1-5 PSAC) heads to Kutztown, Pa. tonight for a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) matchup with the Kutztown Golden Bears (5-7, 3-3 PSAC) at Keystone Arena, with tip-off set for 7:30 p.m.
RECAP:
- The Bald Eagles were defeated by No. 9 IUP 68-93 last Friday evening in Indiana. Lock Haven grabbed a quick lead in the early minutes of the first half, but the Crimson Hawks surged past the Bald Eagles with an 11-point run to give them a lead they would hold on to for the rest of the game.
- Matt Cerruti (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./Archbishop Wood) notched his 1,000th point Friday night on a layup with 8:11 left in the second half. Cerruti became LHU's 20th member of the 1,000-point club and is the first Bald Eagle to reach the milestone since Ra'eese Hunt did so during the 2017-18 season. Cerruti is the fifth LHU player to reach 1,000 points under head coach Mike Nestor's guidance.
- Christian Kelly (Phoenixville, Pa./Phoenixville) led the Bald Eagles with 19 points and six rebounds against the Crimson Hawks, while Jesse McPherson (Philadelphia/Archbishop Carroll) and Markanthony Fidelis (Largo, Md. / Dematha) chipped in with nine points each.
THE SERIES:
- Last season, Lock Haven met Kutztown in the regular season finale, falling to the Golden Bears 89-98.
- Kutztown holds a 10-4 advantage over LHU dating back to the 2011-12 season. The Bald Eagles last win against the Golden Bears came on Feb. 11, 2015, the final victory in a series of four consecutive wins over Kutztown for Lock Haven.
SCOUTING KUTZTOWN:
- Kutztown has dropped their last two games, both against PSAC opponents. Last Friday (Jan. 3) the Golden Bears fell to East Stroudsburg in the final minutes of the game, and the weekend prior saw Edinboro edge out Kutztown 88-86 in overtime.
- Freshman Wesley Butler has led the offense for the Golden Bears, ranking in the top-10 in the PSAC in scoring with 216 points and an average of 18.0 points per game, which also ranks second-highest among first-year players. He is third in the league in three-point shooting, recording a .456 3FG percentage, and has scored in double-digits in all but one game this season.
- Despite their losing record, the Golden Bears have one of the best offenses in the PSAC. Kutztown notches an average of 84.0 points per game, second best in the conference, and sits fourth in the PSAC with a .386 field goal percentage. On the flip side, Kutztown has allowed opponents to score 80.9 points on average, the third worst mark in the conference.
UP NEXT: The Bald Eagles return home this Wednesday, Jan. 8 as they take on the Mansfield University Mounties at 7:30 p.m. in Thomas Fieldhouse.
