Box Score Box Score (HTML)
BLOOMSBURG – A pair of free throws with 3.4 seconds remaining from Pitt-Johnstown's Nate Snodgrass broke a tie and sent the Mountain Cats to a 71-69 victory over the Bloomsburg men's basketball team on Saturday afternoon at Nelson Field House.
A jumper from
Jon Riles (Philadelphia/Academy of the New Church) tied the score at 69 with 28 seconds to play, but Snodgrass was able to connect on two shots at the line in the waning moments following a Huskies foul. Riles then drove the lane following an in-bounds throw, but his shot attempt was blocked by Snodgrass at the buzzer after drawing contact but no foul as the game concluded.
Pitt-Johnstown moves to 9-4 on the year and Bloomsburg now stands at 8-4.
It was a game of runs throughout. UPJ led early, holding a 27-22 lead with just over three minutes remaining in the first half. After more than a half hour delay due to a medical emergency in the stands involving a fan, the Huskies finished the half on a 13-0 run over the final 3:33 to take a 33-27 lead into intermission.
The Huskies led by as much as nine at 55-46 following a layup by
Dontahe Jordan (Williamsport/Williamsport) with 18:01 to play, but the Mountain Cats clawed back with a 12-1 run and grabbed the lead on a layup from Adam Shaheen with 7:55 remaining.
Things remained tight the rest of the way with the score never separated by more than three points over the final 9:50. In all, the teams shared 10 ties and exchanged the lead 11 times before Snodgrass finally provided the separation for the Mountain Cats in the final seconds.
Bloomsburg played the final minutes short-handed, as starters
Alssene Saintilus (Williamstown, NJ/Williamstown) and
Wes Lyons (Millville/Millville) each battled foul trouble and
Dontahe Jordan (Williamsport/Williamsport) left with an apparent injury late in the second half.
Riles posted another strong performance, leading the Huskies with 13 points and four assists. Jordan paced BU on the glass with a season-best 11 rebounds to go along with eight points. Saintilus added nine points and Christmas had eight points and five boards.
Ian Vescovi led all scorers with 16 points for UPJ and Bill Luther added 14 points.
Bloomsburg won the battle of the boards by a 41-33 margin and scored 18 points off 16 UPJ turnovers.
The Huskies return to action with one final PSAC crossover game at nationally-ranked Indiana (PA) on Wednesday night.
GAME NOTES: UPJ shot nearly 43 percent from the field (21-of-49) while Bloomsburg was at 35.3 percent (24-68) … The 68 field goal attempts by the Huskies are a season-high … Riles has scored double figure points in five games this season including three straight … The loss was the first setback for the Huskies at home this season as they now own a 6-1 record at Nelson Field House.