BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – With just under five to play, the Bloomsburg basketball team tied the game at 74-74, but Chestnut Hill pulled away for an 87-78 win Wednesday night in the Huskies season opener.
 
Graduate transfer Desmond Freeman (Greensboro, N.C./Southeast Guilford) cut the lead to one, 72-71, with 5:08 to play before the Griffins scored on their next possession to make it a three-point game once again. Junior Louie Wild (Philadelphia, PA/Roman Catholic) got the ball in Freeman's hands on the Huskies' trip down the court in front of their bench, and he nailed a three to tie the game at 74-74. A pair of free throws and a layup from Chestnut Hill pushed its lead back to four, 78-74, but Freeman got under the basket and finished a turnaround layup to cut the lead down to two, 78-76, with 3:05 to go.
 
The Griffins capitalized on a couple of Husky turnovers to push their lead back to six before sophomore Cam Villarouel (Cumming, GA/State College (PA)) hit a jumper to get the deficit back to four, 82-78. The Griffins held off the late comeback attempt and scored the game's final six points, four at the free throw line, to seal the 87-78 victory.
 
Sophomore Ash Kemble (Myerstown, Pa./Fork Union Military Academy) scored the game's first basket after winning the jump ball and getting a pass from Freeman on the Huskies' first play. The score changed hands four times in the opening four minutes before Freeman hit a three at the 16:38 mark to give the Huskies a 10-7 lead. Chestnut Hill trimmed the lead back to one, 10-9, before taking a one-point advantage, 11-10, with 15:55 to go. Kemble hit the back end of a trip to the line to tie the game on the next Husky possession, but Chestnut Hill used a five-point run to take the lead for good in the opening half. 16-11.
 
The Griffins led by as many as 10, 34-24, with 4:00 minutes to go, but the Huskies kept battling and out-scored Chestnut Hill 5-4 in the final two minutes of the first half to cut the lead to 40-32 at the break.
 
The Griffins extended their lead to 13 with 10:25 to play in the second half, but a three from Freeman kicked off a 16-4 run for the Huskies that got them to within one, 70-69, with 5:50 to play. A jumper from Trevonn Pitts pushed the lead back to three for Chestnut Hill to set up the exciting final four minutes of play.
 
As a team, the Huskies shot 46.3% from the floor for the game and were 8-for-10 (80%) from the free-throw line. After shooting 38.2% from the floor in the first half, Bloomsburg shot 54.5% (18-for-33) in the final 20 minutes. Chestnut Hill shot 48.4% (31-for-64) from the floor and was 20-of-22 (90.9%) from the foul line.
 
The Huskies had a balanced scoring attack, with four of their five starters reaching double figures. Freeman led the way with a game-high 20 points in his Bloomsburg debut. Freeman was 8-for-12 from the floor and 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. He dished out two assists to fill out his stat line. Senior Jake Nelson (West Chester, Pa./West Chester Rustin) opened the season with a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Nelson was 8-of-12 from the floor, 1-for-2 from downtown, and 1-for-2 from the free throw line. Seven of his 10 rebounds came off the defensive glass, while he picked up three more on the offensive side of the floor. Wild had 12 points and a team-best six assists, while Kemble finished the day with 11 points, three steals, and an assist.
 
The Huskies return to the hardwood on Saturday when they welcome Goldey-Beacom College to Nelson Field House for a 1:00 p.m. contest.