Box Score (HTML)

BLOOMSBURG – Host Lock Haven caught fire from beyond the arc and pulled away late in the second half for a 94-82 victory over the Bloomsburg University men's basketball team on Saturday afternoon in front of 1,003 fans at Thomas Fieldhouse.
 
Bloomsburg (8-10, 4-10 PSAC) led early, taking a 15-8 advantage on a steal and fast break layup from Charles Haigler (Charles Town, WV/Hargrave Military Academy).
 
A 12-4 run from Lock Haven (6-12, 6-8) put the Bald Eagles ahead at 21-20 following a jumper in the lane from Wali Hepburn for one of the game's 11 lead changes.
 
The remaining eight minutes of the first half were back-and-forth as neither team could establish much control, with the score not being separated by more than five points for the rest of the opening stanza.
 
The Huskies appeared to grab momentum heading into the locker room as Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) found Jameal Tucker (Philadelphia/Academy at Palumbo) for a layup at the buzzer, sending the teams to intermission with Lock Haven clinging to a 41-40 edge.
 
Moustapha Noumbissi (Upper Darby/Delaware County Christian School) gave the Huskies a quick lead on the first scoring of the second half as his jumper put the visitors up, 42-41.
 
Like the first half, the opening portion of the second half was a nail biter.
 
Alssene Saintilus (Williamstown, NJ/Williamstown) put the Huskies up, 50-49, at the 14:29 mark following his jumper at the foul line.
 
Hepburn answered on the other end, though, with a shot from beyond the arc for the 52-50 advantage.
 
That began a trend for the Bald Eagles who could not be stopped from long range. Despite entering the day as the PSAC's worst 3-point shooting team at just over 27 percent, Lock Haven was on fire Saturday. Lock Haven hit a season-high 10 3-pointers, finishing 10-of-19 from beyond the arc.
 
Lock Haven never trailed again, though Bloomsburg kept things tight until the final minutes.
 
Noumbissi sank a pair of free throws to pull the Huskies within a 76-70 margin with 4:16 to play, but back-to-back layups from Hepburn and Nate Walters pushed the lead to double digits for the first time all day at 80-70 with 3:46 remaining.
 
Saintilus kept the Huskies fighting by hitting baskets on the next two trips down the floor to cut within 82-74 at the 2:17 mark, but a traditional three-point play from Walters on Lock Haven's next possession effectively put the Bald Eagles out of reach.
 
Saintilus, who reached 1,000 career points in Wednesday's win over Millersville, continued his strong week with a career high 24 points along with 14 rebounds for his third straight double-double.
 
Hepburn entered the day among the PSAC's leading scorers and continued his stellar season with 31 points and 12 rebounds while also handing out eight assists with four steals. Al Blount also posted 21 points for the Bald Eagles.
 
Bloomsburg had five players in double-figure scoring as Jon Riles (Philadelphia/Academy of the New Church) (15 points), Alex Prislupsky (Olyphant/Mid-Valley) (11 points) Haigler (10 points) and Mortellite (10 points) all had strong scoring days.
 
The Huskies return to action Wednesday night against Cheyney at home with tipoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Nelson Field House.
 
GAME NOTES: The Huskies shot 43.1 percent from the floor (31-of-72) while Lock Haven was at 46.5 percent (33-71) … Bloomsburg had five players in double figures for the first time since Nov. 19 at Cheyney … Mortellite entered the day second in the nation in free throw percentage at over 95 percent and went 4-for-4 at the line Saturday … Saintilus has reached double-figure scoring in nine straight games.