Box Score / Morning Call story by Mandy Housenick

KUTZTOWN – Senior Micah Covert and freshman Will Brown combined for 38 points, including three three-pointers in the final minute, but Brown's 60-footer hit the backboard and rim and fell away as time expired as Kutztown held on for an 85-82 win over East Stroudsburg University on Saturday afternoon at Keystone Arena.

Covert scored a career-high 20 points and Brown had 18 on six three-pointers as the Warriors (9-7, 2-2) rallied from a six-point deficit in the final minute. Brown hit his last triple to make the score 79-76 with 48 seconds left, Covert drilled a three with 8.7 seconds left to cut it to 81-79 after a jumper by Eric Henry, and hit his final three with 1.7 seconds on the clock to get it to one following two free throws by Kutztown's Julius Gray.

Gray hit two more at the line to give Kutztown an 85-82 lead with 0.8 seconds left. Brown received the inbounds pass on the right side of the floor, took one dribble and launched a shot that was on line but wouldn't go in as the Golden Bears (11-5) improved to 4-0 in the PSAC East. The Warriors have lost six games at Kutztown by five points or less since 2002.

Nate Edwards led five Kutztown players in double figures with 18 points, Steve Coffey had 17, Tamir Johnson had 15 points and 12 rebounds and Gray scored 12 points, including a three-pointer with 2:12 left that gave the Golden Bears a 79-73 lead.

ESU put four players in double figures in Covert (20 points, 8-for-10), Brown (18 points, 6-for-10), sophomore forward Terrance King (11 points) and junior forward Eric Bryan (10 points, five rebounds). Sophomore forward Duane Johnson scored eight points and sophomore forward Marcus Brown had seven points and eight rebounds.

Both teams shot better than 50 percent from the field and 60 percent from the three-point line, with ESU going 12-for-20 and Kutztown shooting 6-for-8. Brown was 6-for-8 himself and Covert hit 4-of-5 for the Warriors, while Coffey went 3-for-3, Gray was 2-for-3 and Edwards made his only attempt for Kutztown.

The first 39 minutes of regulation were as back-and-forth as the final minute, starting with an early 18-10 lead for the Golden Bears as they hit their first eight shots from the floor. ESU led just once in the first half, 5-4, but scored the last five points of the half on a three by Brown and a layup by King to pull within 44-39 at intermission.

Kutztown extended its lead to 11 points early in the second half before the Warriors battled back with an 18-5 run to take a 62-60 lead with under 10 minutes left. Brown hit two of his three second-half three-pointers in the run, Covert knocked down a jumper and assisted on a layup by Johnson that tied the score at 60-all, and Bryan had an offensive rebound and putback to give ESU its first lead since a minute into the game.

There were six lead changes over the next three minutes until Kutztown opened a 76-69 advantage at the four-minute mark. The Warriors went inside to King on two straight possessions and a pair of free throws and a layup cut the margin to 76-73 before Gray's three-pointer extended the lead to six and set up the finish.

ESU hosts Millersville on Wednesday night at Koehler Fieldhouse in a match-up of teams with 2-2 records in the PSAC East. The Marauders won both of their games this week at home, beating Cheyney 73-70 and West Chester 82-70. ESU is 7-0 at home this season, including a 78-75 (OT) win over Cheyney in its conference opener.