NCAA ATLANTIC REGIONAL PAGE (hosted by West Liberty State)

NCAA DIVISION II BRACKET / PRESS CLIPPINGS / ST. AUGUSTINE'S STATISTICS

STEPHEN DENNIS NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR PAGE

KUTZTOWN, PA (March 8, 2010) – Now, that the euphoria of being selected to the 2010 NCAA Division II tournament has subsided, the sixth-seeded Kutztown University men's basketball team now gets down to the business of figuring out how to defeat its first round opponent, third-seeded Saint Augustine's College in Saturday's Atlantic Regional opening round game at West Liberty State (W.Va.) in Wheeling. The game is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.

The other Saturday game matches host and No. 2 seed West Liberty State (27-2) against No. 7 Alderson-Broaddus (24-6) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday's winners will meet Sunday night at 7 p.m.  Ticket prices for each day at West Liberty State are $10 for adults and $5 for students with ID.

In the other half of the Atlantic Region at Indiana (Pa.), No. 5 seed East Stroudsburg (24-5) will meet No. 4 seed West Virginia State (27-3). In the second game, the host and top seed Indiana, Pa (28-2) battles No. 8 seed Fairmont State (22-7).

Kutztown is making its third appearance in the NCAA Division II tournament (1998 and 2009). This will be Saint Augustine's fourth trip to the NCAA Division II tournament (1983, 1984, and 1997).

This is the first meeting in school history between Kutztown (23-7) and Saint Augustine's (26-4). The two teams share a common opponent this year in Lincoln (Pa.), which has applied for membership in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) and is reclassifying to Division II. Kutztown beat the Lions, 88-76, on Dec. 29 at Keystone Arena. Meanwhile, Saint Augustine's defeated Lincoln twice, 95-61 at home and 99-71 at Lincoln.

Since Lincoln is not an official member of the CIAA, Kutztown's last game against a CIAA school, according to athletic records, was a 63-54 loss to Bowie State on December 11, 1999.

After falling to IUP, 84-73, in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) championship game, the Golden Bears had to wait nearly 25 hours to learn their NCAA fate. Turns out they had nothing to worry about as they landed the sixth seed. Kutztown has been paced most of the season by its quartet of senior guard and Division II national player of the year candidate Stephen Dennis, junior guard Julius Gray, junior center Ryan Washingtonand junior forward Tamir Johnson.

Dennis and Washington are one of the highest scoring combinations in Division II. They combine for 44.3 points per game and have scored 20 or more points in the same game nine times this season. Dennis, who leads Division II in scoring at 26.6 points per game, has scored 30 or more points 10 times this season and handed out five or more assists 14 times. Dennis has posted four double-doubles. Dennis has scored 2,386 career points, which is third all-time in the history of the PSAC.

Dennis, the 2010 Lehigh Valley Small College Men's Basketball Player of the Year, also holds school career records for field goals made (844), free throws (613) and assists (444). This season, Dennis set a single-year school record for points with 797, surpassing the mark of 710 he established last season.  He has also been named PSAC East Player of the Week five times this season.

Washington has notched 17 double-doubles. With 1,172 points entering the game, Washington needs six points to move past Bobby Eberhart and into 11th place on the all-time KU scoring list. Washington earned consecutive player of the week awards in late December and early January. He scored a career-high 31 points in consecutive games against Gannon and Clarion earlier this season.

Gray is the Golden Bears' third leading scorer at 13.3 points per outing. However, he has been on fire lately. Gray has scored 20 or more points in four of Kutztown's last seven games, including three straight. With 69 3-pointers, Gray needs four more to set the single season record in that category. Gray averaged 22.2 points per game in three PSAC playoff games last week against Mansfield, Clarion and IUP.

Johnson, who transferred from Central Connecticut State at the start of the season, has fit in perfectly with the Golden Bears. He is averaging 9.3 points and 8.3 rebounds. Johnson, who has six double-doubles, also leads the PSAC in field goal percentage (63.2). Johnson has grabbed 14 or more rebounds four times this season.

Washington, Gray and Dennis played prominent roles in Kutztown's run to the Sweet 16 last season. Dennis averaged 20 points in Kutztown's three games against West Virginia State, IUP and Gannon. He scored 31 points in his NCAA debut against West Virginia State. Washington averaged 20.6 points and 8.2 rebounds last year. Gray contributed 8.2 points per outing.

The red-hot Falcons fly into their first NCAA tournament game since 1997 having won 17 of their last 18 games including the CIAA championship two weeks ago over Elizabeth City State, 63-59, at the Time Warner Arena in Charlotte. The 26 wins are a modern-day school record for the Falcons.

Saint Augustine's has been paced by the scoring of guard Chris Jordan, who is averaging 16.3 points and has made a team-high 70 3-pointers. Steven Brignol has made 46 3-pointers and is averaging 11.6 points per game. Hayward Fain is the Falcon's other double digit scorer, averaging 11.4 points and a team best 8.2 rebounds. Overall, the Falcons have nine players averaging at least 16 minutes. Jordan has led the Falcons in scoring in six consecutive games.

The Falcons have been idle since winning the CIAA championship on Feb. 27. In that game, Jordan scored 20 points, including eight in the final 1:28. Saint Augustine's held a 42-28 rebounding edge against Saint Augustine's including a 15-9 in offensive rebounds. Fain led the Falcons in rebounding but forward Kalvin Patterson added six rebounds and guards Jordan and Brandon Hickson contributed five rebounds each.

The Falcons also scored 40 points in the paint, led by Patterson's 11 points. Steven Brignol chipped in eight points and Shaun Washum added six points for the Falcons. Saint Augustine's has held its opponents to 35.1 percent shooting and permitted 62.3 points per contest. The Falcons have held four of their last opponents under 60 points.

The Atlantic Region final will be played on Tuesday March 16. The Elite Eight will be played at the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield, Massachusetts on March 24, 25 and 27. Findlay (Ohio) is the reigning Division II national champion. Twenty-two conferences were awarded automatic qualification while the remaining 42 teams were selected at large by the NCAA Division II men's basketball selection committee.

--KU--