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BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - The Bloomsburg University men's basketball team had three players in double figures but it wasn't enough as the Huskies dropped an 80-69 decision to visiting Kutztown University on Saturday afternoon at the Nelson Field House. Bloomsburg dropped to 4-7 overall and 2-5 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division while the Golden Bears improved to 9-6 overall and 3-4 in the PSAC East.

Junior Ky Mauras (Reading, Pa./Reading) paced the Huskies with 19 points, nine rebounds, six assists, and three steals - while not committing a turnover - in a solid all-around 36 minutes of action. Freshman Sekou Fofana (Upper Darby, Pa./Springfield Commonwealth) came off the bench to score a career-high 14 points in just 18 minutes. It was the second straight double-digit scoring effort for the freshman who hit a career-high four triples on the afternoon - three of which came in the final nine minutes as he tried to rally the Huskies from an 11-point deficit. Fellow freshman Travis Elmore (Tobyhanna, Pa./Pocono Mountain West) was held in check for much of the afternoon but did manage to reach double figures for the 11th consecutive time to start his collegiate career as he finished with 11 points and seven rebounds. He added a career-high three assists on the day.

The first half remained close until the Golden Bears went on a mini 6-0 run late in the stanza to turn a two-point lead into an eight-point advantage with 2:15 left. The lead remained at eight until a big steal and layup from Mauras at the buzzer cut the deficit to six, 38-32, as the teams headed to their respective locker rooms.

The play carried momentum into the second half as the Huskies scored 10 of the first 11 points after the break to take a 42-39 advantage with 16:35 left in regulation. Redshirt senior Darius Robinson-Wallace (Philadelphia, Pa./Delaware Valley Charter) started the spurt with a three-pointer which was followed by back-to-back layups from Elmore and Mauras to give the Huskies their first lead since a 2-0 advantage to start the game. After Kutztown's Anthony Lee went 1-of-2 at the line to tie the game at 39-39, Mauras knocked down a triple to give Bloomsburg a 42-39 lead.

The Golden Bears, however, responded with a 13-4 run to retake a 52-46 advantage with 11:10 remaining. Kutztown continued to build the lead as the advantage got as high as 11 with 8:38 left before the Huskies made one last rally effort. Fofana hit a triple then, after a dunk by Lee, junior Austin Harriott (Philadelphia, Pa./Hun School) converted a 2-for-2 trip at the line and Mauras added a three-pointer to cut the Kutztown lead to 61-56 with 6:18 left in regulation. That, however, would be as close as Bloomsburg would come the rest of the way as the Golden Bears built the lead to the final 11-point margin.

Lee, the PSAC's leading scorer at 27.6 points per game coming into Saturday's game, struggled with his shot (5-of-18 from the field, 1-of-7 from deep) but still managed to finish with 20 points. He added seven assists, four rebounds, two blocks, and two steals in the victory. Josh Townsend had a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds while Kiyon Hardy added 16 points off the bench.

The Huskies shot just 39.7% from the field (27-of-68) but hit a season-high 10 three-pointers in 28 attempts (35.7%). Bloomsburg also had a season-high 20 assists on the afternoon. Kutztown shot 50.0% from the floor (29-of-58) and converted 17-of-20 (85.0%) from the charity stripe. The Golden Bears also held a 42-33 edge on the glass.

Bloomsburg returns to action on Wednesday, January 9, for a non-conference game against Wilmington University at the Nelson Field House. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

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