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BLOOMSBURG – Redshirt freshman Wes Lyons (Millville/Millville) tied his previous career-high of 19 points, but the Bloomsburg University men's basketball team was outscored by 11 in the second half by Mansfield University on its way to a 73-66 setback Wednesday night in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division contest at Nelson Field House.
 
The Huskies (7-17, 5-15 PSAC) held a four-point lead over the Mountaineers (7-17, 5-15) at halftime and could have secured a place in the PSAC tournament with a win.  Bloomsburg now stands in a tie for fifth place in the East with Shippensburg and Mansfield with two games to play in the regular season.
 
Lyons' 19 came on 5-of-9 shooting from the field including a pair of three-pointers.  He shot a perfect 7-for-7 at the free throw line and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds. 
 
Three Huskies finished in double figures in scoring. Senior Daniel Kusnyer (Wexford/Hillsborough CC) and junior Lorenzo Christmas (Norristown/Norristown) each finished with 15 points.  Kusnyer shot 5-for-5 from the field with three three-pointers, and Christmas also made three three-pointers while making all six of his free throw attempts. 
 
Junior point guard Andrew Morgan (New Brunswick, NJ/St. Joseph's) dished out a career-high eight assists in the setback. Armand Leaks (Philadelphia/The Shipley School) and Moustapha Noumbissi (Upper Darby/Delaware County Christian School) gave the Huskies solid minutes in the paint, each finishing with six points.
 
Bloomsburg had one of its most effective nights at the free throw line of the season.  It shot 88.9 percent (16-for-18) for the game, only trailing its 17-for-19 performance at Kutztown earlier this season.
 
In a back and forth first half, Bloomsburg led by as many as seven in the final minute before taking a four-point, 34-30 lead into the locker room.  BU held a commanding 17-7 advantage in rebounding and shot 5-for-10 from three-point range in the first half.  However, the Huskies were out-rebounded in the second half, 15-12, and made just three three-pointers the remainder of the game.
 
Mansfield opened the second half on a 6-0 run to take a two-point lead in the opening two minutes of play.  Over the next five minutes, the teams traded 7-0 runs to give Mansfield a 46-45 lead with 12:54 to play.
 
With Bloomsburg leading 61-60 with 5:07 to play, Mansfield went on a 7-0 run sparked by Bloomsburg turnovers to retake the lead one last time at 69-63.  Lyons cut the deficit to three with an and-one play off an inbound pass, but a fast break dunk by Mansfield's Chuck Harper stretched the Mansfield lead to two possessions and too much for the Huskies to overcome.
 
Mansfield was led by Harper's 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting.  Also finishing in double figures for the Mountaineers was Charles Becoats (15), Kevonte McClain (13), and Joe Bell (11).  Mansfield only turned the ball over five times in its first PSAC road win of the season.
 
Bloomsburg remains home for senior day on Saturday, Feb. 23 to face Kutztown at an early tipoff of 12 p.m. Before the game, the Huskies will honor Kusnyer and fellow senior Nnamdi Njoku (Westampton, NJ/Rancocas Valley) along with team manager Jennifer Shacreaw.