Beaver falls to Kent St.-Tuscarawas

By: Matylda Zamudio

MONACA, Pa. –– In the first game of the new year, the Penn State Beaver men's basketball team fell to Kent St.-Tuscarawas in the Thursday evening USCAA match, 81-64. 

Senior guard John Foster (Austin/Del Valle) finished with 17 points, eight rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block, and junior guard Keon Butler (Annapolis/Star Severn School) also contributed 17 points, four assists and two rebounds in the game.

Sophomore forward/center Jeremy Redwine (Merced) finished with a double-double tonight with 14 points, 13 rebounds and one assist.

1st half: The teams were neck-to-neck in the opening minutes of the first, but at the 14^th minute, Beaver went on a 17-point run, rounded out by a Foster 3-pointer at the ninth minute, to go up by a double-digit lead of 12 points (28-16). However, the Kent St.-Tuscarawas men turned the tables on Beaver with a late run of their own to pull ahead by 2 points before halftime (37-35).

2nd half: After the break, Beaver forced three turnovers by Kent St.-Tuscarawas in the first three and a half minutes of the half, which prompted the Lions to pull ahead by 5 points (44-39) at the 15:32 minute-mark. The teams kept it close for the next four minutes, but the game started moving in Kent St.-Tuscarawas' favor as the visitors made an 8-0 run with 9:32 left in the game, which put the Lions down by 6 points (54-48). Kent St.-Tuscarawas went on to build a double-digit lead down the stretch and in the final five minutes of play, the team outscored the Lions 18-9, which resulted in an 81-64 loss for Beaver.

Inside the Box: Beaver shot 50 percent from the field, hitting 26-52 shots, 41.2 percent from 3-point range on 7-17 shots and 45.5 percent from the free-throw line, hitting 5-11 from the charity stripe.

After tonight's defeat, the Lions fall to a 6-7 overall record. Beaver will be back at home next Tuesday, Jan. 14, where they will face off against the University of Maine at Fort Kent. The game is slated for 8 p.m.