BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The Bloomsburg University men's basketball team battled until the final horn, but Felician escaped with an 89-83 win over the Huskies, Saturday afternoon. The Huskies fell to 0-2 for the year while the Golden Falcons improved to 1-1 for the season.
 
Freshmen Matt Bengel (Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep) and Ash Kemble (Myerstown, Pa./Eastern Lebanon County) had a pair of solid offensive performances for the Huskies as Bengel led BU with 21 points behind a 8-for-16 day from the floor and a 2-for-6 day from beyond the arc. Bengel grabbed three rebounds, had one block, and dished out three assists for BU while posting a pair of steals. Kemble went 9-for-13 from the floor and was 2-for-3 from three-point range. He pulled down five rebounds and had one of the Huskies' four blocks on the day.
 
Junior Jake Nelson (West Chester, Pa./West Chester Rustin) finished the day with his second-straight double-double to open the season as he posted 12 points and recorded 10 rebounds, including seven defensive boards. Junior Justin Anderson (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) finished the day with 18 points, one block, and three assists while classmate Justin Rodriguez (Easton, Pa./Morristown-Beard) had a team-best five assists to add to his six points and one block.  
 
As a team, the Huskies shot 54.1% from the floor (33-for-61) and was 8-for-16 (50%) from three-point range. The Huskies struggled at the free throw line as they went 9-for-18 at the stripe. The Golden Falcons were 33-for-62 (53.2%) from the floor and 8-for-21 from downtown. The Golden Falcons held a slight edge at the free throw line as they went 15-for-23 at the line (65.2%).
 
The Golden Falcons raced out to a 9-2 lead early in the first quarter but Nelson hit a three to give the lead to 9-5 before Felician missed a three right before the first media timeout. The Golden Falcons maintained at least a five-point lead through most of the opening part of the game until Bengel drained a three with 10:34 to play in the first to cut the lead to 18-16 thanks to an assist from Anderson.
 
The Golden Falcons used a seven-point run to push their lead back to nine, 25-16, with 8:19 to play in the first and kept the Huskies at an arm's length as Bloomsburg could get as close as eight points, 40-32, with 1:50 to play thanks to a driving layup by Bengel. The Golden Flacons ended the half with a pair of free throws to take a 45-35 lead into half.
 
Kemble blocked Felician's first shot of the second half but the Golden Falcons used a 6-4 run to open the frame to push their lead to 13, 51-38. The two teams went back and forth and the Huskies slowly but sure chipped away at the lead until Kemble made a layup with 13:42 to play to cut the lead to seven, 56-49. The Golden Falcons answered with a driving layup and eventually pushed its lead back to 12, 63-51, with 11:33 to play but the Huskies did not back down. Heath Healy grabbed a defensive rebound on the next missed Felician jumper and Bengel hit a jumper in the paint to cut the lead to 10, 63-53.
 
Bengel's jumper kickstarted a 7-2 run for Bloomsburg as the Huskies pulled to within five, 65-60, with 7:34 to play. Dee-End McRae halted the Bloomsburg run with a layup and the Golden Falcons pushed their lead back to nine, 69-60, with 6:41 to go.
 
The pesky Huskies defense continued to disrupt the Golden Falcons from breaking the game open and Bloomsburg cut the lead to two, 82-80, with 57 seconds to play as Anderson had a block under the Golden Falcons basket and senior William Melson (Allentown, Pa./Dieruff) grabbed the rebound. Kemble drained a three at the top of the key to make it a two-point game. Jaylen Colon scored seven of his nine points for the game in the final 40 seconds as the Huskies were forced to foul to stop the clock to preserve time for their offense. Colon hit seven of his eight free throws to seal the game for Felician.
 
The Huskies hit the road on Tuesday as they travel to Goldey-Beacom for a 6:00 pm non-conference contest before the Thanksgiving Holiday. The Huskies will be back at Nelson on Sunday, November 28 as they host Wilmington (Del.) in a 2:00 pm game.