BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – Four Huskies hit double figures but it was not enough as the Bloomsburg University men's basketball team fell to visiting East Stroudsburg, 99-88, Wednesday night. The loss dropped the Huskies to 8-14 on the year and 5-11 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference action while the Warriors improved to 13-8 for the season and 9-7 against PSAC teams.
Sophomore Travis Elmore (Tobyhanna, Pa./Pocono Mountain West) led the offense for Bloomsburg with 21 points behind a 7-of-8 day from the field and 7-of-10 shooting from the free-throw line. Freshman Justin Anderson (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) and redshirt junior Max Wagner (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) each chipped in 19 while senior Ky Mauras (Reading, Pa./Reading) added 17 and had two of the Huskies' three three-pointers. Wagner pulled down a team-best nine rebounds while Mauras handed out seven assists for the day. The Huskies forced eight of the 20 Warrior turnovers and converted those turnovers into 28 points.
For the day, Bloomsburg shot 49.2% (30-of-61) from the field and was just 3-of-19 from beyond the arc. The Huskies were 25-of-32 from the charity stripe. East Stroudsburg won the rebounding battle 45-30 and posted 17 second-chance points.
As a team, the Warriors shot 47.8% (32-of-67) from the field and were 10-of-26 (38.5%) from three-point range. The Warriors were 16-of-29 from the free-throw line.
Bloomsburg held the lead for the last time in the game, 4-2, with 17:18 to play in the first. At the 17:05 mark, Marc Rodriguez hit a three to give ESU the lead, 5-4, but Bloomsburg tied the game 6-6 thanks to a layup from Wagner. Justin Paz hit a jumper at the 15:34 mark to give East Stroudsburg the lead for good, 10-8. A three from Anderson at the 14:53 mark cut the lead back to one, 12-11, but that would be as close as Bloomsburg would get for the rest of the game.
East Stroudsburg went on an 11-4 run over the next four minutes of gameplay to take its first double-digit lead of the game, 25-15, with 10:12 to play in the first half. Bloomsburg used and 13-8 run to cut the lead back to six, 34-28, with 8:05 to go before the break but a 6-0 run for the Warriors pushed the lead back to 12, 40-28, with 7:06 to play. The two teams battled back and forth as the Huskies kept the deficit under 10 after trimming it to seven, 46-39, with 4:23 left in the half. A dunk from Wagner at the 1:57 mark trimmed the gap to nine, 54-45, but an unfortunate foul called on a three-point shot put Rodriguez at the line for three and he hit all three to give ESU a 12-point lead, 57-45, with 1:50 to play before the break. Rodriguez ended the half with a three to give East Stroudsburg a 60-45 lead at the break.
With 15:02 to play in regulation, the Warriors pushed their lead to 20, 71-51, their largest of the game. Mauras hit a three at the 14:42 mark to cut the lead back to 17, 71-54. East Stroudsburg took a 20-point lead twice more in the half, the last time coming with 11:34 to play as the Warriors led 80-60. The Huskies went on a late second-half run and out-scored the Warriors 20-6 over the next seven minutes to cut the lead back down to six, 86-80, with 4:44 to play in the game. Mauras put an exclamation point on the run with a layup and Elmore accounted for eight of the Huskies 20-points in the run. The two teams traded successful trips to the free-throw line and two baskets each before East Stroudsburg ended the game on a 7-2 run to seal the 99-88 victory in Nelson Field House.
The Warriors currently sit at third in the conference standings with six conference games left while the Huskies are tied for ninth in the Eastern Division. The top six teams from each division go to the PSAC tournament, beginning Monday, March 2.
The Huskies hit the road on Saturday as they travel to Shepherd University for a 3:00 p.m. PSAC contest. The Rams are currently seventh in the division at 5-10 against PSAC teams and 9-12 for the year. Bloomsburg defeated Shepherd 83-75 earlier this year in Nelson Field House.
