Box Score
BLOOMSBURG—The Huskies held the visiting Golden Rams scoreless for the final seven and a half minutes of the game, as the Bloomsburg University men's basketball team defeated West Chester University, 74-61, in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division action Saturday at Nelson Field House. With the win, Bloomsburg improves to 7-11 (3-3 PSAC East), while West Chester dips to 10-7 (1-4 PSAC East).
West Chester took control early in the game, building up a seven point lead at 9-2, four minutes in the game. In the span of 90 seconds, Lorenzo Christmas (Norristown, Norristown) scored five quick points, and Larry Webster (Hagerstown, MD/Elkton) III (Elkton, MD, Elkton) added a pair of free throws to put the Huskies back in the mix trailing 12-11.
Slowly, the Golden Rams pulled away again, leading by eight at 32-24. By halftime, West Chester held a 35-30 advantage over the Huskies. WCU's Khalif Foster had a big half, scoring 12 points to lead all scorers in the period.
Four minutes into the second half, a three-pointer by Jesse Betar (Altoona, Altoona) knotted the game at 42-42. From there, the Golden Rams pulled away again, compiling a 10 point lead at 59-49 with nine minutes to play.
A technical foul sent Betar to the foul line, where he made both of his shots. The event would mark a turning point in the game, and four minutes later, Betar made another pair of free throws to tie the game at 61-61. The junior would finish the game a perfect 8 for 8 from the line.
Trevon Johnson (Snow Hill, MD, Snow Hill) made a free throw and layup to add another three points for the huskies, and Dontahe Jordan (Williamsport/Williamsport) made two foul shots to give BU a 66-61 lead with under two minutes to play.
Forced to foul, the Golden Rams sent another two shooters to the line for the Huskies, and Bloomsburg converted its attempts to extend the lead to 70-61.
In the game's closing seconds, Jordan and Webster added the final exclamation points to the evening, making spectacular dunks off feeds from Jamar Smack (Philadelphia/State College) and Betar, respectively.
From the point of trailing 59-49, the Huskies went on a 25-2 run, scoring the game's final 21 points, 11 off of free throws. West Chester struggled from the field and from the foul line; the Golden Rams missed the front-end of all three second-half 1-and-1 opportunities. WCU scored its last point with over seven minutes to play. The win marked the third time this season that the Huskies have rallied to win after trailing at halftime.
Jordan finished the game with a game high 20 points and eight rebounds. Betar added a season-high 15 points, and both Johnson and Webster tallied 14.
As a team, Bloomsburg made 21 of 26 free throws (80.8%), including 14 of 18 in the second half. By contrast, West Chester was 11 for 19 (57.9%) from the line and 4 for 8 (50.0%) in the second period.
Foster finished with a team-high 14 points for West Chester, while Eli Daniel and Shannon Givens each scored 10.
In its next game, Bloomsburg rounds out the first half of its PSAC East schedule, as the Huskies host East Stroudsburg on Wendesday, February 2, at 7:30 p.m.
