RELEASE DATE: 2/29/05

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: HIGH SCORING MOUNTAINEERS HOST KUTZTOWN IN PSAC QUARTERFINALS TUESDAY NIGHT

The Mansfield University men’s basketball team is hoping all good things come in three’s when they host Kutztown University in a PSAC Quarterfinal Playoff game at Decker Gymnasium Tuesday night at 7 p.m.

It’s the third straight season the Mountaineers have earned a PSAC playoff berth and marks the third time the two teams have met this season. Mansfield won the first two regular season contests.

“I don’t think there will be a lot of surprises for either team,” said head coach Vince Alexander who has directed the Mountaineers to four PSAC playoff berths in his six seasons at the helm. “We pretty much know what they’re about and they pretty much know what were about.”

What Mansfield has been about over the past six weeks is winning.

The Mountaineers are 17-10 overall and are the hottest team in the PSAC after capturing their first PSAC East crown since 1997  with a 10-2 division mark. They have won 10 of their last 11 games after starting the season at 7-9.

“Our success all season has been based on our unselfish play,” said Alexander. “These guys just don’t want to score points, they want to win. We’ve had six different guys be the high scorer in the game this season. They just have the attitude that it’s not about me -- it’s about we -- and they play that way.”

Balance has been one of the keys to the season. Although Mansfield is the top scoring team in the conference and ranks fourth in rebounding, the Mountaineers have just one player ranked in the top 20 scorers and no one among the top 15 rebounders.

The top scoring team in the conference, the Mountaineers are averaging 83.9 points per game behind a well balance scoring attack.

Senior Jason Benson tops four players averaging double figures during the season and is the only Mountaineer ranked among the top 20 scorers in the PSAC averaging 17.8 points per game. Fellow guard Brandon DeShields is averaging 12.9 points per game, but has been red hot since breaking into the starting lineup 11 games ago averaging a team best 18.1 points per game over that span.

David Hoopes is averaging 12.4 points per contest and is one of the top 3-point shooters in the PSAC this season. Junior Carlos Collazo has supplied inside scoring averaging 12.4 points per game while hitting 56.2% of his shots from the floor. Brian Bryant, Justin Kress, Terrance Williams, Andrea Martin, Jeremy Frey and Ian Anderson have all started during some point of the season. Newcomers Kevin Hill and Johnny Hampton have each seen considerable action.

Kutztown brings a 15-11 overall record into Decker Gymnasium and finished in fourth place in the PSAC East with a 6-6 record after edging East Stroudsburg 78-77 in overtime on Saturday. Mansfield won both regular season meetings, edging the Golden Bears 76-75 at Kutztown and posting a 101-86 victory at Decker Gymnasium.

Kutztown recorded wins at Millersville (73-56) and against East Stroudsburg during the week to climb back into the PSAC playoff picture. The Golden Bears had seven of their 12 PSAC games decided by four or less points, winning three of them.

Bobby Eberhart is the leading scorer for the veteran Golden Bears, averaging 14.7 points per game including a team best 51 3-pointers. Senior Bilal Salaam is averaging 13.9 points per game along with 10.1 rebounds and a conference best 105 blocked shots. Ty Brickus is averaging 10.5 points per game. Frank Moultrie (9.2 ppg) and Ben Arnold (8.5 ppg) round out the starting five.

It marks the second straight year the two programs have meet in Decker Gymnasium in a PSAC Quarterfinal game. Kutztown upset Mansfield last season by a score of 76-72. Only three Mountaineers who played in that game are on the roster this season in Brian Bryant, Brandon DeShields and Jeremy Frey.

“This is a completely different team than last season,” said Alexander. “This team has a different attitude and chemistry than we did last year and truly believe they have to outwork every team they play.”

The winner of tonight’s game will advance to the PSAC Final Four. The championship tournament will be hosted by the highest remaining seed for the West Division. Although Clarion won the PSAC West to be the top seeded team, they will not host the tournament because of a conflict with hosting the EWL Wrestling Championship. The winner of the IUP-Edinboro game will serve as tournament host.

Tuesday’s PSAC Quarterfinals

Kutztown at Mansfield                          Shippensburg at Clarion

Millersville at West Chester                   IUP at Edinboro

PSAC Championship Tournament

Semi Finals       Friday

Finals               Saturday

Hosted by winner of  IUP-Edinboro game