RELEASE DATE: 1/29/05

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MOUNTIES OUTLAST KUTZTOWN TO MOVE INTO TIE FOR SECOND PLACE IN PSAC EAST – BRANDON DeSHIELDS HAS DOUBLE-DOUBLE INCLUDING GAME HIGH 23 POINTS

KUTZTOWN – Brandon DeShields recorded a double-double including a game high 23 points and Mansfield held on down the stretch in a key 76-75 win over Kutztown in a PSAC East game at Keystone Hall Saturday afternoon.

“This team is just starting to peak,” said head coach Vince Alexander about his team after winning their third straight game to move into a tie for second place in the PSAC East. “We have really been playing as a team lately and it seems that someone else steps up for us ever game. Today it was Brandon DeShields, but everyone had a part. All 11 guys did their jobs today and that’s what won the game.”

The Mountaineers raced out to a 13-1 led when DeShields buried a 3-pointer four and a half minutes into the game. Mansfield would increase that lead to as many as 17 points during the first half before going into intermission  43-35 lead behind DeShields and Jason Benson who combined for 22 first half points.

Kutztown closed the gap quickly in the second half, outscoring the Mountaineers 19-8 over the first five minutes of the half to take a 54-51 lead on a 3-pointer by Dorian Sims at the 14:24 mark.

The lead went back and forth over the next five minutes until Mansfield would go up 61-58 on another DeShields 3-pointer with 10:16 to play.

The game remained close with the lead fluctuating between one and five points over the remaining course of the contest. Mansfield would only trail once again by one point with 3:31 to play.

Mansfield held a 76-71 lead when Jason Benson hit a layup with 1:31 to play, but Kutztown hit four straight free throws to close to 76-75 with :41 remaining.

Kutztown had two chances to win the game in the closing seconds, but Bilal Salaam's jumper from just inside the three-point line missed the mark with three seconds left, and Ty Brickus' desperation putback at the buzzer fell short.

The Mountaineers were keyed by excellent play by guards Brandon DeShields and Jason Benson. DeShields, a point guard,  posted his second straight double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds while dishing out seven assists. Benson was the only other Mountaineer in double figures with 17 points. Jeremy Fry also has a strong game with nine points and seven rebounds.

Kutztown had five players in double figures led by Ty Brickus with 18 points and Ben Arnold with 17. Salaam had a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds.

The Mountaineers improve to 10-9 overall and 3-1 in the PSAC East. East Stroudsburg is currently atop the PSAC East with a 3-1 mark while West Chester is 3-1. The two teams meet Sunday.

Newspaper Box Score

Mansfield vs Kutztown

01-29-05 3:00 PM at Kutztown, PA - Keystone Arena

At Kutztown, PA - Keystone Arena

MANSFIELD 76, KUTZTOWN 75

MANSFIELD (10-9, 3-1 PSAC E)

DESHIELDS, Brandon 9-18 2-5 23; BENSON, Jason 6-14 3-4 17; FREY, Jeremy 3-3

3-5 9; WILLIAMS, Terrance 2-5 1-2 7; COLLAZO, Carlos 2-6 3-4 7; BRYANT,

Brian 3-5 0-0 6; HILL, Kevin 2-4 0-0 5; ANDERSON, Ian 1-2 0-0 2; MARTIN,

Andrae 0-4 0-1 0; KRESS, Justin 0-2 0-0 0; HOOPES, David 0-7 0-0 0. Totals

28-70 12-21 76.

KUTZTOWN (11-7, 2-2 PSAC E)

BRICKUS, Ty 7-11 0-0 18; ARNOLD, Ben 5-10 7-8 17; EBERHART, Bobby 4-9 4-4

13; SIMS, Dorian 4-7 4-6 13; SALAAM, Bilal 2-13 7-12 11; MOYER, David 1-2

0-2 2; REYNOLDS, Tyler 0-1 0-0 0; DAVIS, Terrance 0-1 0-0 0; MOULTRIE, Frank

0-3 0-0 0. Totals 23-57 23-34 75.

Mansfield.....................   43   33  -   76

Kutztown......................   35   40  -   75

3-point goals-Mansfield 8-24 (DESHIELDS, Brandon 3-6; WILLIAMS, Terrance

2-3; BENSON, Jason 2-4; HILL, Kevin 1-3; HOOPES, David 0-6; BRYANT, Brian

0-1; COLLAZO, Carlos 0-1), Kutztown 6-15 (BRICKUS, Ty 4-4; EBERHART, Bobby

1-5; SIMS, Dorian 1-4; MOULTRIE, Frank 0-1; SALAAM, Bilal 0-1). Fouled

out--Mansfield-COLLAZO, Carlos, Kutztown-ARNOLD, Ben. Rebounds-Mansfield 47

(DESHIELDS, Brandon 12), Kutztown 44 (SALAAM, Bilal 13). Assists-Mansfield

13 (DESHIELDS, Brandon 7), Kutztown 12 (MOYER, David 3). Total

fouls-Mansfield 27, Kutztown 17. A-1250