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BLOOMSBURG – A long jumper from junior Jon Riles (Philadelphia/Academy of the New Church) with nine seconds remaining broke a late tie and lifted the Bloomsburg University men's basketball team to a crucial 77-76 victory over PSAC East rival Lock Haven on Saturday afternoon at Nelson Field House.

The win moves the Huskies back into possession of second place in the Eastern Division with an 11-8 overall record and 7-3 mark against conference foes. Lock Haven, meanwhile, sees its five-game winning streak snapped and falls to 13-7, 6-4.

"This is a big win for our basketball team at this stage of the season," head coach John Sanow said. "We were coming off a couple losses where our confidence was shaken a little bit. For us to get this win at home against a very good basketball team puts us in great position in the league standings and is huge for us."

Though Riles' basket from just inside the three-point line in front of his own bench gave the Huskies the late lead, there was still quite a bit of drama remaining.

Lock Haven's Wali Hepburn, who entered the day as the PSAC's leading scorer, drove the lane with time ticking down and drew a foul with 1.8 seconds left to play to head to the foul line. Hepburn connected on the first attempt, but his second was no good, allowing Alssene Saintilus (Williamstown, NJ/Williamstown) to wrestle down the rebound, sealing victory.

Saturday's game was tight from start to finish, featuring 10 ties and 18 lead changes. After taking a 36-34 lead to halftime, Lock Haven threatened to seize control by stretching its largest lead of the day at eight points with 8:02 left to go. Saintilus followed with a layup and Dontahe Jordan (Williamsport/Williamsport) delivered a 3-pointer to bring the crowd to life with the Huskies trailing, 60-57.

From there, the game was not separated by more than seven points over the final 7:16. With Lock Haven leading by seven at 70-63 with 3:43 left, an 8-0 run sparked by two 3-pointers from Riles put the Huskies ahead for the first time since the 17:30 mark at 71-70 following a shot from beyond the arc by the junior guard with 2:10 showing on the Nelson Field House clock.

Hepburn gave the Bald Eagles the lead back at 72-71 with his runner in the lane, but a Lock Haven foul allowed Lorenzo Christmas (Norristown/Norristown) to sink two shots at the line to swap the lead once more. Hepburn made one of two at the stripe to tie the score at 73 before another foul by the visitors sent Jordan to the stripe. The senior guard made both for the 75-73 edge, but Lock Haven tied the game behind two foul shots by Kasheef Festus with 42 seconds remaining to set the stage for Riles' game-winner.

"It was good to see Jon Riles (Philadelphia/Academy of the New Church) play with confidence and make some big plays down the stretch to help us win," Sanow said. "He got an opportunity late in the ball game and made the most of it."

Five Huskies finished with double-figure scoring led by Jordan who tallied his third double-double in four games with 15 points and 12 rebounds as well as three blocks. Christmas also registered 15 points while Riles and Saintilus each had 14. Charles Haigler (Charles Town, WV/Hargrave Military Academy) netted 10 points.

Bloomsburg shot a season-best 55.1 percent (27-of-49) from the floor, including 65 percent during the second half, making 13 of 20 shot attempts. Lock Haven finished at 44.1 percent (30-68) while the teams finished tied in rebounding with 33 boards apiece.

Festus led all scorers with 18 points for the Bald Eagles and Hepburn tallied 14 points.

Bloomsburg returns to action Wednesday at Cheyney as PSAC East play continues.

GAME NOTES: Twelve of Riles' 14 points came during the second half … The Huskies have won 16 straight home games over Lock Haven dating to the 1988-89 season … Jordan has three double-doubles in four games since returning from injury last month … Andrew Morgan (New Brunswick, NJ/St. Joseph's) received his first start of the season … Bloomsburg went 17-22 at the line while Lock Haven was 9-15.