KU defeats West Chester; loses PSAC Championship

By Paul Petrucci

Contributing Writer

The KU men’s basketball team defeated West Chester by a score of 114-93 on Wednesday, March 1 in a game that the Golden Bears led from start to finish.

KU was powered by a boundless effort from their frontcourt. Senior Josh Johnson poured in a career-high 31 points shooting 10-12 from the floor to go along with nine rebounds.

Sophomore Dan Cuevas played a terrific game himself, scoring 21 points and pulling in seven rebounds. He also added two blocks on the defensive side of the ball. Cuevas had a scary moment after falling hard on his head after a dunk, but ended up bouncing back up and igniting what was an electric crowd at Keystone Arena.

KU also received notable performances from sophomore Anthony Lee (16 points, 6 boards and 4 assists) and junior Ethan Ridgeway (13 points, 14 assists.) Ridgeway also broke KU’s all-time assist mark in the effort, recording his 438th career assist.

KU controlled the tempo of the game, played swarming defense, and also dominated the Golden Rams on the glass outrebounding the Golden Rams 41-29. KU’s defense also created 13 turnovers and turned them into 25 points. These were two key statistics that the Golden Rams couldn’t overcome, and was the reason that they were down in the game from start to finish.

KU went on to lose in the PSAC finals, as well as the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Johnson became the first PSAC athlete to earn both Athlete of the Year and Defensive Athlete of the Year honors. Lee, Ridgeway and Ryan Connolly also received PSAC honors for the 2017 season.