Box Score

EAST STROUDSBURG – In the first game between nationally-ranked teams in the 42-year history of Koehler Fieldhouse, No. 12 East Stroudsburg University came back from a 10-point deficit in the final four minutes but No. 21 Kutztown pulled out a 65-63 win.

Both schools are 20-3 on the season (7-3 PSAC East) and share the top spot in the division standings along with Cheyney (14-9, 7-3), who beat West Chester 70-62 on Monday night.

The rematch of then-No. 3 Kutztown's 87-84 win over No. 24 ESU had to wait nine days after being postponed from February 6, and the standing room-only crowd at Koehler Fieldhouse nearly pushed the Warriors past the Golden Bears.

Kutztown led 62-52 with 4:19 left before the Warriors scored 10 straight points, including five straight by freshman forward Duane Johnson in a span of eight seconds, and senior guard Andy Heimbach hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 62-all with exactly 1:00 remaining.

Tamir Johnson had an offensive rebound and putback of a miss by Stephen Dennis to give Kutztown a two-point lead with 26 seconds left, and freshman forward Marcus Brown made one of two at the foul line for the Warriors with 13.5 seconds on the clock. ESU fouled Johnson, who missed both free throws with 11 seconds left, but Julius Gray forced a jump ball on the rebound and gave the Golden Bears possession.

Lance Chisolm was fouled with six seconds left, made the first and missed the second, and the Warriors pushed the ball up the floor and managed a baseline pull-up jumper by Heimbach that came up short at the buzzer.

Dennis, the nation's leading scorer with 27.5 points per game, scored 17 of his 27 points in the first half for Kutztown but was held scoreless over the final 8:57 as the Warriors came back. Jon DeShields had 11 of his 12 points in the first half and Ryan Washington, third in the PSAC in scoring at 19.4 ppg, had 11 points. Tamir Johnson finished with four points and 12 rebounds.

Duane Johnson (12 points), Brown (10 points, six rebounds) and Terrance King (seven points, career-high eight rebounds) gave the Warriors 29 of their 63 points from their freshmen, and Johnson and Brown helped ESU outscore the Kutztown bench 28-4.

The freshmen combined for 16 points, led by seven from Brown, in a first half that finished with Kutztown holding a 36-32 lead.

The Golden Bears went in front 21-13 in the first eight minutes, sparked by eight points from DeShields and six by Dennis, before ESU put together a strong response. The Warriors rattled off a 15-3 run while holding Kutztown without a field goal for more than seven minutes to take a 28-24 lead on a triple by Brown with 5:31 left in the half.

The Warriors led by five (32-27) after both teams traded buckets, but Kutztown ended the half on a 9-0 run as Dennis had a three-point play and went 5-for-5 at the line and DeShields scored on a full-court pass from Julius Gray at the buzzer.

Kutztown scored the first six points coming out of the locker room, the first four by Dennis to give him 21 for the game, but ESU chipped away to stay within striking distance. Heimbach hit a three to end Kutztown's run between the halves, senior guard Robby Pines hit another three two minutes later and junior Micah Covert struck twice from long distance within a minute to pull the Warriors within 48-45 with 13:12 remaining.

Brown's tip-in of a missed three by Covert made the score 50-47 after Dennis scored for the Golden Bears, but Washington came back with a three-point play and Kutztown stretched its lead out to 10 over the next seven minutes.

The Warriors got back in the game at the defensive end, forcing a pair of turnovers after Johnson hit two free throws with 3:22 remaining. Johnson had two steals in the backcourt, making one-of-two at the line with 3:19 left and coming up with a steal and a layup five seconds later to cut the deficit in half at 62-57.

Covert had a steal when Dennis turned it over on Kutztown's next possession, and King had an offensive rebound, was fouled and made both free throws to make it a three-point game (62-59) with 2:34 remaining. Tamir Johnson and King both missed a pair at the line in the final two minutes, Gray missed a three for Kutztown and Heimbach finally tied the game with 1:00 to play to set up the finish.

Heimbach had nine points, going 3-for-8 from long distance, to move into 16th at ESU with 1,082 career points. His 60 three-pointers this season rank fifth and are seven away from tying Juwan Justice's school record, and his 220 career three's are already the most in school history.

The Warriors' 20-3 record, the sixth 20-win season in school history, includes three losses by a total of seven points – 87-84 at Kutztown on January 13, 59-57 vs. Bloomsburg last Thursday and Monday night's setback.

ESU's week continues with two more PSAC East games. The Warriors travel to Mansfield on Wednesday in a rematch of their 67-65 (OT) victory at Koehler Fieldhouse on January 27, and host Cheyney on Saturday after posting a 77-73 win over the Wolves at Cope Hall on January 23.