HTML BOX SCORE

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - Redshirt junior Sam Saxton (York, Pa./Central York) scored 20 points and tied a career-high with nine rebounds but it wasn't enough as the Bloomsburg University men's basketball team suffered its fourth consecutive loss with a 78-74 setback against visiting Seton Hill University at the Nelson Field House on Wednesday night. The Huskies dropped to 5-11 overall and 2-9 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division while the Griffins improved to 5-12 overall and 3-8 in the PSAC West.

Saxton was an efficient 8-of-11 from the field - including 2-of-3 from long range - and was a perfect 2-of-2 from the foul line en route to his second career 20-point effort. Meanwhile, freshman Sekou Fofana (Upper Darby, Pa./Springfield Commonwealth) continued to impress off the bench as he poured in a career-high 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds in 22 minutes. Sophomore Nicholas King (Easton, Pa./Freedom) was also in double figures as he finished with 10 points in his first start since December 19.

Bloomsburg fell behind 7-2 early before going on a 14-2 run to take a 16-9 lead with 12:40 left in the opening half. Saxton and sophomore Ethan Houston (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle) each had four points during the spurt while King, redshirt senior Darius Robinson-Wallace (Philadelphia, Pa./Delaware Valley Charter), and freshman Michael Davie (Boothwyn, Pa./Chichester) added two points apiece. The Huskies' remained at seven, 21-14, after redshirt sophomore Peyton Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) nailed a triple with 10:21 left before the Griffins began to chip away and, eventually, took the lead for good when Nathan Davis buried a three-pointer to give the visitors a 28-25 advantage with 5:14 left. The teams exchanged baskets until Seton Hill's Kealen Coats hit a triple just before the buzzer to give the Griffins a 38-33 advantage at halftime.

King converted back-to-back layups to open the second half before a 15-6 run by the visitors pushed the advantage to its largest margin of the night, 53-43, with 13:59 remaining. The Huskies began to claw away at the lead as Robinson-Wallace and freshman Travis Elmore (Tobyhanna, Pa./Pocono Mountain West) combined to score the next five points to trim the lead to 53-48 with 12:36 left in regulation. The teams traded buckets until a Saxton three-pointer with 7:26 left cut the Seton Hill lead to 63-61. Davis responded at the other end with a triple and Milenko Predic added a jumper to push the margin back to seven, 68-61, with just under six minutes left. Saxton knocked down another three and Fofana hit a pair of foul shots to, again, cut the margin to two, 68-66, with 4:23 left. The two teams would go back-and-forth down the stretch but the Huskies' couldn't get over the hump as Seton Hill was aided by a perfect 6-of-6 performance from the foul line in the closing minutes to keep the hosts at bay.

Elmore finished with nine points and seven rebounds while Houston chipped in with six points. Mortellite added five points while Robinson-Wallace and Davie collected four points apiece to finish off the Huskies' scoring. Robinson-Wallace added eight rebounds as Bloomsburg held a significant edge on the glass, 42-26.

Bloomsburg shot better than 50 percent from the field for just the second time this season as it went 31-of-61 (50.8%) on the night. The Huskies, however, continued their struggles from deep as they made only 3-of-15 (20.0%) from beyond the arc. Seton Hill shot 29-of-65 (44.6%) from the floor and made 7-of-19 (36.8%) from long range. The Griffins also finished 13-of-14 (92.9%) from the charity stripe. The difference came on turnovers as Bloomsburg turned the ball over 18 times to Seton Hill's six. Those 18 turnovers led to 17 Griffin points while the Huskies were able to score only four points off of Seton Hill miscues.

Davis led the Griffins with 29 points while Predic added 20 points and a team-high eight boards in the victory.

The Huskies will be on the road on Saturday, January 26, when they head to Mansfield University to battle the Mountaineers. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.

Stay up to date with the Huskies all season long by following us on our official social media accounts: Twitter (@GoBUHuskies), Facebook (BUHuskies), and Instagram (BUHuskies).