RELEASE DATE: 3/01/05

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: BRIAN BRYANT SCORES CAREER HIGH 21 POINTS TO LEAD MANSFIELD TO 95-90 WIN OVER KUTZTOWN IN PSAC QUARTERFINAL – WILL PLAY EDINBORO FRIDAY NIGHT IN PSAC CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT

MANSFIELD – Senior Brian Bryant saved his best game for his final appearance at Decker Gymnasium, scoring a career high 21 to lead Mansfield to a 95-90 win over Kutztown in a PSAC Quarterfinal Playoff game Tuesday night.

The victory sends the Mountaineers to the PSAC Championship Tournament for the first time since 1997 when they play host Edinboro on Friday night.

“This is just such an awesome moment for our program and our players,” said a calm, but elated head coach Vince Alexander after the game. “The pride I have in the accomplishments of these young men is overwhelming. When nobody believed in us, we believed in us and it’s that faith in one another that has led to this great moment.”

Things didn’t look too good for the Mountaineers early in the game when Kutztown jumped out to an 8-2 lead and Mansfield’s Brandon DeSheilds left the game with an injury.

But the Mountaineers regrouped taking a 9-8 led on a lay-up by Carlos Collazo and extending it to 16-10 on a 3-pointer by Brian Bryant at the 12:48 mark.

Mansfield would increase the lead to as much as 43-27 on a lay up by Justin Kress with 2:32 remaining before settling for a 47-35 advantage at intermission with Jason Benson scoring 13 first half points.

“I was concerned for Brandon,” said Alexander about the injury to DeShields who had been the Mountaineers leading scorer over the last 11 games. “But I wasn't worried about us as a team. We have so much depth that I knew that as a team we would be all right.”

The Mountaineers, who never trailed after the first five minutes of the game, had to hold off a determined Kutztown comeback attempt in the second half.

The Golden Bears cut the lead to 59-51 in the first four minutes of the second half and managed to whittle it down to 65-63 when Dorian Sims made three free throws at the 11:46 mark.

But Mansfield held on and got the lead back to double figures on a 3-pointer by David Hoopes with 4:32 and led 94-84 with just :10 remaining.

Hoopes scored 23 points, including 15 off of 3-pointers to lead the Mansfield scoring attack. Jason Benson had 19 points with Justin Kress coming off the bench to record his fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and a game high 13 rebounds.

The win is the first Quarterfinal win in four tries in Alexander's six seasons at Mansfield and avenges a 76-72 setback to Kutztown in last year’s opening round.

The Mountaineers will take on Edinboro on Friday in the opening round of the PSAC Championship with Millersville which upset West Chester 60-57 in overtime facing Shippensburg, who upset Clarion 56-51, in the opening round.

Newspaper Box Score
Kutztown University vs Mansfield University
3/1/05 7:00 pm at Decker Gymnasium
At Decker Gymnasium
 

MANSFIELD UNIVERSITY 95, KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY 90
KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY (15-12)
SALAAM, Bilal 8-8 4-7 23; ARNOLD, Ben 6-11 0-0 12; BRICKUS, Ty 4-5 2-2 12;
EBERHART, Bobby 4-13 2-4 12; MOULTRIE, Frank 1-4 7-8 9; SIMS, Dorian 2-6 5-6
9; REYNOLDS, Tyler 2-4 2-3 6; MOYER, David 3-7 0-0 6; PEASE, Vince 0-2 0-0
0. Totals 30-60 23-31 90.
MANSFIELD UNIVERSITY (18-10)
HOOPES, David 5-11 8-9 23; BRYANT, Brian 6-8 7-10 21; BENSON, Jason 6-8 6-6
19; KRESS, Justin 4-6 3-7 11; FREY, Jeremy 1-5 6-8 8; WILLIAMS, Terrance 3-7
1-1 7; COLLAZO, Carlos 2-4 0-0 4; MARTIN, Andrae 1-2 0-2 2; DESHIELDS,
Brandon 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-52 31-43 95.
 

Kutztown University........... 35 55 - 90
Mansfield University.......... 47 48 - 95
 

3-point goals-Kutztown University 7-21 (SALAAM, Bilal 3-3; BRICKUS, Ty 2-3;
EBERHART, Bobby 2-7; SIMS, Dorian 0-2; MOYER, David 0-3; PEASE, Vince 0-1;
MOULTRIE, Frank 0-2), Mansfield University 8-22 (HOOPES, David 5-10; BRYANT,
Brian 2-3; BENSON, Jason 1-2; WILLIAMS, Terrance 0-3; COLLAZO, Carlos 0-1;
DESHIELDS, Brandon 0-1; FREY, Jeremy 0-2). Fouled out--Kutztown
University-BRICKUS, Ty, Mansfield University-None. Rebounds-Kutztown
University 31 (SALAAM, Bilal 8), Mansfield University 31 (KRESS, Justin 13).
Assists-Kutztown University 13 (SIMS, Dorian 3; ARNOLD, Ben 3), Mansfield
University 14 (BRYANT, Brian 4). Total fouls-Kutztown University 27,
Mansfield University 25. A-932
PSAC Quarter Final Playoffs