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KUTZTOWN – The Bloomsburg University men's basketball team couldn't overcome Kutztown University's strong offensive first half as it fell 71-64 Saturday afternoon in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division game at Keystone Arena.
 
The Huskies (5-14, 3-12 PSAC) welcomed back junior guard Lorenzo Christmas (Norristown/Norristown) to the lineup after missing the last three games with a concussion suffered on Jan. 19 at Cheyney.  He scored a team-high 16 points including a 5-for-9 performance from three-point range.
 
As a team, the Huskies shot a season-high 87.5 percent (17-for-19) from the free throw line and tied a season-high with nine three-pointers.
 
Freshman forward Wes Lyons (Millville/Millville) scored 10 points and made all four of his free throws.  Juniors Nasir Jones (Philadelphia/Franklin Learning Center) and Dontahe Jordan (Williamsport/Williamsport) each scored eight points as Jordan grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
 
Christmas scored Bloomsburg's opening six points to tie the game at 6-all, but the Golden Bears (5-16, 4-11) went on a 15-5 run to build their first double-digit lead of the game at 21-11 midway through the first half.  The game did not return to single digits until late in the game.
 
Bloomsburg limited its turnovers, shot above average from beyond the arc, and made all of its free throws in the first half, but Kutztown's offensive performance simply could not be matched.  Kutztown made 16 of its first 19 shots and ended up shooting 72.7 percent in the first half despite playing just six players including two freshmen starters.
 
The Kutztown lead bloomed to as many as 19 in the opening minutes of the second half.  Trailing by 15 with 7:11 to play, Bloomsburg went on a 13-2 run capped with a Zach Sheetz (Landisville/Hempfield) three-pointer to bring the game to four at 66-62 with 3:09 to play.  Unfortunately, it was as close as the Huskies would get as Kutztown scored the next four points off a pair of layups.
 
Jordan and Sheetz entered the game as two of Bloomsburg's top four scorers, combining for more than 23 points per game.  The pair of Huskies did not score their first field goal, however, until during the late-game run.
 
Kutztown had four players finish in double figures led by senior guard Micah Fraction's game-high 22 including a 9-for-12 performance at the charity stripe.  Freshman forward Tracy Peal finished with 20 points and nine rebounds, Tyler Brooks had 13 points, eight rebounds, three assists, three steals, and two blocks, and Kenny Battle scored 11 points.
 
Bloomsburg was out-rebounded by Kutztown, 34-27, and shot 32.8 percent from the field compared to Kutztown's 57.5 percent, the second highest by a Bloomsburg opponent this season.
 
The Huskies return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 2 when they host Millersville University (15-6, 11-4), who have already clinched a spot in the PSAC tournament, at Nelson Field House beginning at 7:30 p.m.  The Marauders took the first matchup on Dec. 8 on their home court, 62-49.