HTML BOX SCOREWEST CHESTER, Pa. – The Bloomsburg University men's basketball team held a slim four-point lead at halftime but could not hold off West Chester as the Golden Rams scored 51 second-half points to knock off the Huskies, 81-76, at Hollinger Fieldhouse on Wednesday night. Bloomsburg dropped to 5-5 overall and 3-3 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division. The Golden Rams improved to 8-1 overall and 6-1 in league play.
Senior
Malik Garner (Philadelphia/Chestnut Hill Academy) continued his torrid streak by leading Bloomsburg with a career-high 16 points – his third double-digit scoring output of the season. Redshirt freshman
Tyriek Steward (Wilkes-Barre/Elmer Meyers) also posted a career-best, pouring in 15 points in 20 minutes off the Husky bench. It was his fourth double-digit effort of the year.
Bloomsburg started fast, jumping out to a 13-4 lead just over eight minutes into the first half. Sophomore
Alex Prislupsky (Olyphant/Mid-Valley), starting his second straight contest, sparked the offense with five points in the opening stretch.
The Golden Rams cut the lead to 23-21 with 4:43 left before the Huskies went on a quick 7-0 run to extend their lead to nine with 2:36 remaining in the opening twenty minutes. Two free throws from redshirt sophomore
Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton), a three-point play from sophomore
Kyle-Michael Rose (Middletown, DE/Sanford School), and a jumper from Garner provided the offense during the spurt.
The make by Garner with 2:36 left, however, would prove to be Bloomsburg's final basket of the first half as West Chester made a run down the stretch to cut the Huskies' lead to 34-30 at halftime. Two free throws each from Mortellite and senior
Charles Haigler (Charles Town, WV/Hargrave Military Academy) provided Bloomsburg's only offense in the final moments of the opening half.
After West Chester took its first lead of the game, 38-36 with 16:58 left, Bloomsburg scored ten of the next twelve points to go back in front, 46-40, with 14:28 remaining. Garner nailed a pair of three-pointers during the run to spark the rally. He entered the contest having made just 1-of-11 long distance attempts through the first nine games of the season.
The Golden Rams cut the lead to one with 12:29 remaining before the Huskies regrouped for another six-point lead, 54-48, with 10:36 left. Steward, Rose, and Garner provided hoops during another Bloomsburg run.
West Chester came back for a third time and, unfortunately for the Huskies, the third time was not the charm. The Golden Rams' Thomas White converted a layup with 6:38 left to put the hosts ahead, 58-56 – a lead they would not relinquish.
The Golden Rams ballooned the lead to eight with 1:17 left before the Huskies put together one final push. Mortellite converted a three-point play, then baskets by Garner, Mortellite, and Diggs cut the lead to five with 17 seconds left. West Chester's Malik Jackson hit one-of-two free throws, but Garner responded with another three-pointer to cut the lead to three with five seconds remaining. Matt Penecale hit a pair of free throws with one second left to ice the game for the Golden Rams, thwarting the Bloomsburg comeback.
Mortellite was the only other Husky in double figures as he finished with 15. He was 7-of-7 at the free throw line but was just 4-of-15 from the field and 0-of-6 from three-point range.
Matt Wiseley had 14 points and 14 rebounds and Tyrell Long added 14 points to lead the Golden Rams.
Bloomsburg will return to action for the final time of the 2015 portion of the regular season on Saturday, December 19 when it hosts Mansfield University at Nelson Field House. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. and is the first game of a men's and women's doubleheader.
