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WEST CHESTER, Pa. – A slam dunk from Alssene Saintilus (Williamstown, NJ/Williamstown) with 7.3 seconds remaining erased a one-point deficit and sent the Bloomsburg University men's basketball team home from West Chester's Hollinger Fieldouse with a 77-76 PSAC East victory Saturday afternoon.
 
The victory moves Bloomsburg to 9-6 overall on the season and 5-1 in the PSAC East and snaps what was a six-game winning streak for West Chester, which falls to 12-5 and 5-2.
 
Despite Bloomsburg holding the lead for much of the second half, it looked as though the Golden Rams were going to be able to steal victory when Shannon Givens drilled a long 3-pointer to take a 76-75 lead with 12 seconds remaining.
 
Following a Bloomsburg timeout, Jon Riles (Philadelphia/Academy of the New Church) set up the game-winning play. The junior guard was able to drive and dish to Saintilus, who worked himself into an opening in the low post and was able to slam it home for the lead.
 
West Chester's Cory Blake then threw the in-bounds pass to Charles Haigler (Charles Town, WV/Hargrave Military Academy) who was able to swipe the ball out of the air and all but seal the win. Troy Hockaday had one last chance for the Golden Rams, a desperation heave that hit the side of the backboard as time expired.
 
Lorenzo Christmas (Norristown/Norristown) powered the Bloomsburg offense with 19 points and hit his 200th career 3-pointer on his fourth trey of the afternoon. Haigler poured in 15 points with four assists and five rebounds and Riles added 11 points with three assists.
 
Bloomsburg instantly felt the difference from having senior Dontahe Jordan (Williamsport/Williamsport) back. Jordan, who has been limited to nine games this year due to injuries, played 28 minutes off the bench and posted a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds.
 
West Chester grabbed a six-point lead (33-27) in the first half, but the Huskies finished the period on 6-0 run capped by a last-second layup from Haigler to send the teams into the locker room tied at 35.
 
The Golden Rams stretched to a six-point edge again during the first two minutes of the second period, but Bloomsburg embarked on a 10-0 run capped on a Christmas trey for a 51-47 lead and 12:55 left to go.
 
After WCU re-claimed the lead at 52-51, Haigler put the Huskies back in front with a jumper and Bloomsburg maintained the advantage for over seven minutes, leading by as many as eight at 70-62 with 3:16 remaining.
 
Givens' 3-pointer capped a 14-5 run by the Rams before Saintilus, who battled foul trouble much of the day, dunked the Huskies to victory.
 
Bloomsburg shot 45.6 percent from the floor (26-for-57) while holding WCU to 39.7 percent (23-58). The Huskies also won the battle of the boards, out-rebounding West Chester 39-33. That advantage on the glass allowed Bloomsburg to post 17 second chance points on the afternoon, while West Chester had just six including only two in the second half.
 
Andrew Morgan (New Brunswick, NJ/St. Joseph's) tied a career-high with nine points off the bench for the Huskies. Four West Chester players worked into double-figure scoring led by Blake who had 15 points.
 
Next up for Bloomsburg is a PSAC East contest vs. Mansfield on Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. inside Nelson Field House.
 
GAME NOTES: Christmas became the fourth player in program history to reach 200 3's and is 25 away from the record of 225 set by Bloomsburg Athletics Hall of Fame member Mike Ellzy from 1993-97 … the 13 rebounds by Jordan are the most by any Huskies player this season, topping the 11 he posted on Jan. 4 vs. Pitt-Johnstown … Jordan moved to 17th all-time in BU scoring with 1,174 points and to 14th in rebounding with 619 … Christmas now stands 19th in scoring with 1,128 points … Bloomsburg has played 10 games decided by 10 points or less and is 5-5 in such contests.