Box Score (HTML)

BLOOMSBURG – The Bloomsburg University men's basketball team led often and pushed No. 24 IUP to the brink in its bid for an upset before falling short in overtime, 80-70, on Saturday afternoon at Nelson Field House.
 
Bloomsburg (6-4, 2-4 PSAC) led by as much as eight points during the second half, seizing a 41-33 advantage on a step-back 3-pointer from Alssene Saintilus (Williamstown, NJ/Williamstown) with 17:00 left to play.
 
IUP (10-2, 4-2) immediately responded with a 9-0 run to grab a 42-41 edge on a traditional three-point play from Daddy Ugbede.
 
The teams were not separated by more than four points the rest of regulation, sharing 13 ties.
 
Ugbede gave the Crimson Hawks a 64-61 lead with a free throw at the 2:48 mark and the teams did not score over the next two minutes before Huskies sophomore guard Anthony McKie (Blue Bell/Plymouth Whitemarsh) ignited the crowd with a shot from beyond the arc to tie the game at 64 with just 42 seconds left to play.
 
A missed jumper from IUP's Shawn Dyer gave the Huskies the ball with a chance for the win. After a Bloomsburg timeout to set up the final play with 12 seconds to go, Jon Riles (Philadelphia/Academy of the New Church) saw his 3-point attempt hit off the front of the rim with five seconds remaining and the teams would go to overtime.
 
IUP opened the extra period by scoring eight of the first nine points for a 73-65 advantage. Saintilus brought the Huskies within 73-68 with a bucket in the lane with 2:12 to go, drawing the foul and completing the traditional three-point play with an  and-one at the line.
 
The Huskies forced a missed shot and Saintilus hauled in the defensive rebound on the ensuing possession, but a missed jumper gave the Crimson Hawks the ball back which allowed Brandon Norfleet to hit from 15 feet for a 75-68 lead and just 51 seconds to go.
 
From there the Crimson Hawks never looked back, salting the game away in the final seconds with shots at the line from Norfleet and Devante Chance.
 
Haigler scored 19 points for the Huskies with Riles adding 16 points and Saintilus chipping in 15 points with seven rebounds. Moustapha Noumbissi (Upper Darby/Delaware County Christian School) powered the Huskies on the glass with nine rebounds to go along with seven points and three blocks.
 
Norfleet tallied 19 points with six rebounds for IUP while Chance registered 17 points.
 
The teams were nearly even in shooting from the floor – IUP finished at 43.1 percent (25-58) while the Huskies were at 42.1 percent (24-57). Rebounding was nearly as tight with IUP holding a slim 35-32 edge on the boards. IUP, however, turned Huskies turnovers in 20 points while Bloomsburg finished with 10 points off turnovers.
 
The Huskies will break for the holidays before returning to PSAC crossover play Jan. 3-4 at Nelson Field House, hosting Seton Hill on Jan. 3 and California (PA) on Jan. 4.