Box Score
WEST CHESTER, Pa. - Â Kutztown University hit all 18 of its second half free-throws to stun the crowd inside Hollinger Field House, and come away with a 73-70 PSAC East victory over host West Chester Saturday afternoon.
The Golden Rams (15-7, 8-4 PSAC East) Â led by 16 with five minutes left in the first half, but the Golden Bears (7-14, 5-6) finished with a run to cut the lead to eight at the break.
Ryan Connolly scored 14 of his game high 19 in the second half, knocking down a pair of three's, and hitting all eight from the charity stripe, hitting on six straight in the final 15 seconds.
Kutztown made 30-37 from the line, including all 18 in the second half, while West Chester converted on only 16 of 24.
Troy Hockaday, who finished with a team high 16 before fouling out, scored on a floater in the lane to give West Chester a 61-54 lead with 8:12 to play. Kutztown went on a 9-1 run capped by a three point shot from 23 feet by Fred Dukes IV as the shot clock expired, to grab a 63-62 lead at the 1:23 mark.
The Golden Rams regained the advantage on two
Matt Wiseley free-throws 13 seconds later. Tracy Pearl gave Kutztown the lead back with a pair of free-throws, and following a West Chester miss, Dukes pushed the lead to three.
Cory Blake hit a driving layup to cut the lead to one then Connolly hit a pair from the line.
R.J Griffin brought West Chester within one with nine second remaining, but Connolly responded again,
Shannon Givens scored to make it a 71-70 game with under four seconds to play, one more time Connolly stepped to line and made two.
Following a Kutztown timeout, Givens sent a pass the length of the court that found its way to an open Griffin for a three to tie at the buzzer, but the ball bounced out as time expired.
Blake added 14, and Givens and Griffin each scored 13, Wiseley was the leading rebounder with nine.
West Chester travels to Lock Haven on Wednesday for a 7:30 PM tipoff in another key PSAC Eastern division contest as the season winds down. The Golden Rams are a half- game ahead, but are tied with Bald Eagles with four conference defeats. West Chester captured the first game 91-87 in overtime in January at home.
