Box Score
Site: Joseph West Jones College Center (Wilmington, Del.)
Final Score: Kutztown 62, Goldey-Beacom 58
Records: Goldey-Beacom (1-3), Kutztown (1-0)
Next GBC Event: Saturday, Nov. 23 vs. Millersville | 1 p.m. | Joseph West Jones College Center (Wilmington, Del.)
GBC-Kutztown Box Score: HTML
WILMINGTON, Del. – Sophomore forward
Ryan Connolly (Souderton H.S./Harleysville, Pa.) made 6 of 15 shots from the floor and scored a game-high 20 points to lead Kutztown University (1-0) to its first win of the season, a 62-58 non-conference victory over Goldey-Beacom College (1-3) at the Joseph West Jones College Center on Friday evening.
The win allowed the Bears to spoil the Lightning's home opener while handing Goldey-Beacom its third loss in a row.
Led by six points from junior center
Chris Gebhart (Cherry Hill West H.S./Cherry Hill, N.J.), the Lightning jumped out to a 10-9 lead with 14:33 remaining in the first half. But, the Bears answered by scoring 9 of the next 13 points to take an 18-14 advantage with 8:11 remaining in the opening stanza.
The Lightning rallied to take a 28-27 lead with 2:28 remaining in the first half on a lay-up by junior forward
Derrick Archie (Christiana H.S./Wilmington, Del.) before the Bears scored four points in the final two minutes to take a 31-28 edge into the intermission.
Connolly scored nine points in the first 4:31 of the second half to extend the Bears' advantage to 43-33, converting three field goals from three-point range. But, a 7-1 spurt by the Lightning trimmed the margin to 44-40 with 11:10 left on a pair of free throws from junior guard
Chris Thompson (Life Center Academy/Florence, N.J.).
The Bears extended their lead to 55-44 by scoring 11 of the next 15 points before the Lightning used an 8-0 run to narrow the margin to 55-52 on a pair of free throws by freshman guard
Parris Ridgeway-Higgs (Hodgson Vo-Tech H.S./New Castle, Del.) with 3:31 remaining.
With 1:19 left in regulation, a jumper by freshman guard
Donte McGill (Mont Clare Academy/Newark, Del.) trimmed the deficit to 57-56, but a quick four-point spurt by the Bears secured the victory.
Led by Connolly, the Bears had four players score at least 10 points en route to the victory. Freshman guard
Austin Beidelman (Parkland H.S./Schnecksville, Pa.) contributed 11 points with six assists while senior guard
Tyler Brooks (Daniel Boone H.S./Douglassville, Pa.) added 10 points. Freshman forward
Josh Johnson (Norristown H.S./Norristown, Pa.) came off the bench to score 12 points with a team-high nine rebounds.
McGill came off the bench to lead the Lightning with 18 points, including 12 in the first half. He made 7 of 16 shots from the floor and converted all three free throw attempts. Gebhart added 14 points with four rebounds and two blocked shots while Archie contributed a game-high 13 rebounds.
The Lightning will be idle until Saturday, Nov. 23 when they host Millersville University in a non-conference game at the Jones Center at 1 p.m.
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