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BLOOMSBURG--Lorenzo Christmas (Norristown/Norristown) scored a game-high 19 points and Alssene Saintilus (Williamstown, NJ/Williamstown) added his first double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Bloomsburg University men's basketball team to an 86-70 win over Mansfield University Wednesday night in PSAC (Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference) Eastern Division action.
 
Locked in a two-point game (70-68) with 5:43 to play, the Huskies closed the game on a 16-2 run to pull away for the victory holding the Mountaineers without a point for the final 4:41 of the game.
 
After Mansfield's Joe Bell scored on a layup to make it 70-68, Saintilus was fouled going to the basket and hit both free throws. After a Mansfield missed shot, Christmas drained a three-pointer to put the Huskies up 75-68. Mansfield's Joe Bell then closed the gap to five points (75-70) on a layup with 4:41 to go. Those would turn out to be the final points of the night for the Mounties.
 
A pair of free throws from Bloomsburg's Armand Leaks (Philadelphia/The Shipley School) and a layup from Dontahe Jordan (Williamsport/Williamsport) pushed the Huskies lead to 79-70 with 3:51 to play. Later Saintilus gave Bloomsburg its first double-digit lead since midway through the first half at 81-70 when he scored on a power move to the basket. Then over the final two minutes of the Huskies went 4-4 from the foul line with Jordan scoring the final points for an 86-70 win. While Bloomsburg was adding to its lead the Huskies defense forced the Mountaineers into 0-10 shooting from the floor to end the game.

The game was back and forth throughout the first half with the score tied three times along with two lead changes. Mansfield held the early edge in the game going up 12-7 after a bucket from Charles Pemberton with 15:36 to go in the half. Bloomsburg stormed back and took a 19-13 lead with Christmas scoring eight of the Huskies 12 points, including back-to-back three pointers.
 
Bloomsburg extended the lead to 28-18 when Charles Haigler (Charles Town, WV/Hargrave Military Academy) hit one of two free throws giving the Huskies their biggest lead of the half with 9:19 to play. Mansfield chipped away at the lead over the next several minutes and trailed by five (41-36) with 1:15 to go before the break. The Mounties though got a layup from Ralik Wise and three free throws from Ryan Krawczeniuk just before the buzzer to knot the game at 41-all.
 
The teams started the second half much the same way as the first half exchanging leads with Mansfield going up by three points on two occasions before the Huskies grabbed the lead for good on a three-pointer from Christmas with 13:49 to play making it 52-50.
 
The Huskies stretched that lead to seven points, 62-55, with 11:48 to play on a three-pointer from Jon Riles (Philadelphia/Academy of the New Church). Mansfield came right back and narrowed the gap with five points from Krawczeniuk and four from Pemberton to make it 70-68 setting up the deciding five and a half minutes of play.
 
Christmas finished with 19 points hitting five three-pointers along the way, while Saintilus was 6-13 from the floor and grabbed 10 defensive rebounds.  Jordan had his second straight double-double getting 10 points and 11 rebounds, while Jon Riles (Philadelphia/Academy of the New Church) added 13 points and nine assists with Haigler chipping in with 10 points.
 
Mansfield, 4-14, 2-6 PSAC East, got 13 points from Pemberton, while Bell added 11 points and 10 rebounds with Krawczeniuk getting 10 points off the bench.
 
Bloomsburg improves to 10-6, 6-1 in the PSAC East, and will be back in action on Saturday at Kutztown starting at 3 p.m.