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BLOOMSBURG – The Bloomsburg University men's basketball team returned to the win column and defeated Lock Haven University, 106-98, in double overtime Friday night in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) crossover play at Nelson Field House.
 
The Huskies (3-9, 1-7 PSAC) earned a much needed win with some tough play, and effective possessions down the stretch.  Bloomsburg shot a season-best 50 percent from the floor and turned 18 Bald Eagle (5-6, 3-5) turnovers into 31 points.
 
“This was a great team win for us at this moment of the season,” Bloomsburg head coach John Sanow said.  “Our guys really came together, played extremely hard, were very emotional, and brought a lot of passion to the game. To grind out a double overtime win was very important for us.”
 
Bloomsburg was led by junior Lorenzo Christmas (Norristown/Norristown) and freshman Charles Haigler (Charles Town, WV/Hargrave Military Academy).  Christmas scored a team-high 29 points, one shy of his career-high, on 10-for-19 shooting including four three-pointers. 
 
Haigler turned in the best performance of his young career with a career-high 26 points to go along with a team-high seven rebounds, five of which came on the offensive end, and six assists.  He shot 10-for-15 from the field after making his first eight shots of the night and grabbed three steals.
 
“I thought (Charles) Haigler really grew up as a point guard tonight,” Sanow said.  “He was executing our offense, calling the right play at the right time, and was making other people better. He led us in assists tonight and when he had the opportunity to score the ball, he took advantage.”
 
Senior Nnamdi Njoku (Westampton, NJ/Rancocas Valley) scored a season-high 17 points, one shy of a career-high, off the bench and made all nine of his free throw attempts.  Free throw shooting played a significant factor in Friday's game. Bloomsburg shot 23-for-33 (69.7 percent), but were outdone by Lock Haven who shot 35-for-39 (89.7 percent) at the line.  24 of Lock Haven's 42 second period points came at the free throw line.
 
Lock Haven featured a trio of players that accounted for 83 of its 98 points.  Sophomore guard Wali Hepburn entered the game as the PSAC's leading scorer, and dropped a game-high 34 points and 10 rebounds including a 13-for-15 performance at the free throw line.  Hepburn played all 50 minutes for Lock Haven.
 
Terrell Johnson scored 25 for the Bald Eagles on a 9-for-16 outing from the field, and Kasheef Festus had 24 points and shot 14-for-16 at the charity stripe. 
 
Heading into the second overtime after Hepburn hit a game-tying three-pointer to end the first overtime, Bloomsburg came out strong on both ends of the floor to own the final five minutes of play.  The Huskies scored the first eight points to take a 100-92 lead with 3:40 to play, as a Njoku and-one put Bloomsburg over the century mark.
 
Haigler pushed the Bloomsburg lead to double-digits at 106-96 in the final minute as Bloomsburg snapped its eight-game skid and extended its home winning streak over Lock Haven to 15 games.
 
The high scoring affair marked the first time Bloomsburg scored 100 or more points since dropping a 108-103 triple overtime decision at Millersville in the 2010-11 season.  The last time Bloomsburg scored 100 or more at home was twice during the 1999-2000 season in wins over the University of Bridgeport and Caldwell College.
 
After a back-and-forth first half which featured the Huskies leading by as many as eight in the early minutes, Bloomsburg used a 9-1 run midway through the second half to build its largest lead of the game at nine, 67-58, with 7:50 to play in regulation.  A key to Bloomsburg's early success was surrendering a season-low five first-half turnovers.
 
“We've been talking about keeping the game simple lately, and tonight we did a good job of making the open pass and screening on the ball to get everyone involved,” Sanow said.  “Overall, our execution offensively was much better tonight.”
 
Leading again by eight with 2:57 to play, Lock Haven went on a 7-0 run in under a minute to bring the game to one at 77-76.  Christmas converted an and-one opportunity to give Bloomsburg a three-point lead, but Hepburn made a pair of free throws the following possession and made the game-tying layup with 8.2 seconds to go.  Christmas got a clean look at the basket as the final buzzer sounded, but his three-point attempt was off the mark.
 
The first overtime never grew to more than a one-possession game.  Sophomore guard Zach Sheetz (Landisville/Hempfield) opened the extra period with his third three-pointer of the game, but Lock Haven regained the lead off a 5-0 run with 2:39 to play.  Sheetz ended with nine points and a career-high four assists and two steals in 37 minutes on the floor.
 
Nasir Jones (Philadelphia/Franklin Learning Center) and Christmas gave the Huskies back the lead with less than two minutes to play, and two Njoku free throws with 31 seconds to go gave Bloomsburg a three-point advantage.  However, Hepburn answered with his lone three-pointer of the night with 23 seconds to play to force the second overtime.
 
Redshirt freshman Wes Lyons (Millville/Millville) had an effective night from the floor, scoring 13 points on 6-for-8 shooting.  He grabbed five rebounds and grabbed three steals before fouling out in the second half.
 
Jones, Njoku, and Moustapha Noumbissi (Upper Darby/Delaware County Christian School) turned in great minute off the bench.  Jones played both overtimes and recorded four points with five rebounds.  Noumbissi had a career-high three blocks and six rebounds.  Bloomsburg's bench outscored Lock Haven's, 29-6.
 
“Those guys really gave us some quality minutes off the bench,” Sanow said.  “I thought they were confident, played extremely hard, and gave us energy off the bench.  Each one of them made a timely play to help us win overall.”
 
The Huskies will have little time to recuperate after a long night as they return to action on Saturday, Jan. 12 at Nelson Field House to take on Clarion University at 7:30 p.m.