Kutztown rejects Schuylkill Valley, 58-51, in Berks 3 clash

LEESPORT >> It didn’t follow Kutztown’s season script to this point, except for the end result.

The Cougars clinched at least a tie for the BCIAA Section 3 regular season title Friday night with a 58-51 win over host Schuylkill Valley. At 9-0 in Berks Section 3 (17-2 overall), the worst the Cougars can do is tie for the title with second-place Brandywine Heights (7-1). Those two meet Saturday night with that claim at stake.

How Kutztown got to 58-51 on Friday night bucked a season-long pattern on jumping on a opponent early and maintaining an edge. Instead, the Panthers (7-13, 3-6) showed up to play on the their home floor and took an early 9-2 lead. The hosts held the lead for a large chunk of the first half and trailed by only two points, 24-22, at the break.

An 11-3 run in the latter stages of the third quarter was needed for Kutztown to finally seize control of the contest.

It was a spirited challenge, one that first-year head coach Ted Snyder welcomed as his team preps for a postseason run at the Berks League and District 3 playoffs.

“What’s been typical MO for us is playing with the lead,” Snyder said. “This was good for us. They started out hot and we trailed early. … We haven’t really been in that many close games and it was nice to get an experience like that.”

Kutztown, as it has so often this winter, relied on the play of Lorencz Jean-Baptiste. The junior swingman posted a double-double with 27 points and 10 rebounds Friday night, on the heels of dumping 30 points on Oley Valley, and was a key look for his teammates during that third-quarter spurt that created separation from a pesky host club looking to pull the upset.

“The guys look for him,” Snyder said. “He can create his own shot, inside or outside. he can gets offensive rebounds. He’s been option 1 and 1A.”

Jean-Baptiste got some major help from Brayden Eck, who scored 16 points. But that was fairly much it for sustained production. Schuylkill Valley’s effective 2-3 zone defense kept paint play to a minimum and forced the Cougars to hit perimeter shots, which they did with aplomb in forging that deciding third quarter run.

Tied at 28 three minutes and change into the second half, Eck and Jean-Baptiste scored eight of Kutztown’s next 11 points during a 2:23 span, with a 3-pointer from Ivan Fegely giving the Cougars the lead for good at 33-30.

The Panthers jumped out early on a pair of threes from Isaac Horne, who forged his way to a team-high 15 points.  But Jean-Baptiste responded with eight points in a 10-2 response run, including a pair of triples, the second of which gave Kutztown its first lead of the night at 12-11.

Schuylkill Valley cooled off during the second quarter, with only two field goals during an eight-minute stretch, a subdued sequence that allowed Kutztown to take a slight edge into the locker room at the break.

 

Kutztown 58, Schuylkill Valley 51

Kutztown –  14  10  17  17 — 58

Schuylkill Valley – 15  7  12  17 — 51

Kutztown

Jean-Baptiste 11 2-3 27, I Fegely 1 0-0 3, D Fegely 2 1-3 6,  Eck 7 1-2 16, Fenerty 2 0-0 4, Angstadt 1 0-0 2, Floyd 0 0-0 0, Tucker 0 0-0 0, Heffner 0 0-0 0. Totals: 24 4-8 58.

3-pointers: 6 (Jean-Baptiste 3, Eck, I Fegely, D Fegely)

Schuylkill Valley

Horne 4 4-6 15, Worrell 3 0-0 7, Miller 1 0-0 3, Solomon 2 0-1 4, Kauffman 3 1-3 7, Rivera 4 1-2 11, Johnson 1 2-2 4, Lynam 0 0-0 0, McMinn 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 8-14 51.

3-pointers: 7 (Horne 3, Rivera 2, Worrell, Miller)