PHILADELPHIA – Thomas Jefferson University men's basketball team (1-2) shot 48.1% on the floor while forcing the Golden Bears to only shoot 36.67% in the first half as the Rams were able to secure their first victory of the season with a 89-70 non-conference win over Kutztown University (1-2) in Wednesday night action.
 
WHAT HAPPENED
Jefferson would start the half strong as they'd score 18 points in under seven minutes as Bismark Nsiah scored seven of his team-leading 21 points on the night to put Jefferson up 18-4. The Rams would keep ahold of their lead with Antonin Kemkeng, Erik Timko, and Ahmed Barba-Bey all adding their own points in to make it 31-10 with 6:39 left in the first half. Kemkeng would take six of his 12 rebounds in the first half, with hid 12 points on the night giving him a double-double. Kutztown would slowly chip away at the lead as Jaiden McGhee, Jalen Bryant, and Amir Cunningham all scored to force it at 31-18. Jefferson would not let that slow them down, as they'd end the first half going on a 12-7 run to head into the break up 43-25.
 
The Golden Bears would begin to get more comfortable in the game as Jalen Bryant scored the first six points for Kutztown while a Ryan Glassmacher three cut the Ram lead to 48-34. Jefferson would go onto take the next nine points as Timko made his layup, Hakim Byrd converted on a three, and Nsiah finished the run with a fastbreak Dunk to make it 57-34 with just 4:51 into the second half. The Rams would keep on cruising for the rest of the game as they wouldn't allow the Golden Bears within 18 points of their lead. Kutztown would score 10 of the last 12 points in the game, but the Rams would hold onto their 89-70 and earn their first regular season victory.
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Bismark Nsiah: 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting (1-1 3PT), 8 rebounds, 5 assists
Erik Timko: 19 points on 8-of-17 shooting (2-9 3PT), 4 steals, 2 assists
Hakim Byrd: 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting (4-10 3PT), 4 rebounds, 3 steals
Antonin Kemkeng: 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting, 12 rebounds, 2 assists
 
JEFFERSON AS A TEAM
FG: 37-77 (48.1%)
3PT: 9-34 (26.5%)
FT: 6-12 (50.0%)
 
UP NEXT
Jefferson will now travel to New York on Saturday, November 18 when the Rams go on the road to face College of Staten Island at 3 p.m.