BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The Bloomsburg men's basketball team's strong second half wasn't enough as the Shepherd Rams hung on for a 81-72 win in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East action on Saturday. The Huskies dropped to 0-13 on the year and 0-9 in PSAC action while the Rams improved to 8-7 and 4-4 in conference play.
 
With 8:07 to play in the second half, sophomore Matt Bengel (Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep) scored six-straight points for the Huskies with a pair of shots in the paint, including a fast break layup after stealing the ball from Jarrod Robinson and driving to the basket. Bengel drew a foul after grabbing a defensive board on the next Rams' possession. Bengel hit both of his free throws for his sixth-straight points and cut the Ram lead to 62-51 with 7:07 to play. After another Shepherd turnover, junior Louie Wild (Philadelphia, PA/Roman Catholic) went hard to the basket and drew the foul. He hit both of his free throws with 6:34 to play and trimmed the Ram advantage to single digits. 62-53.
 
The Rams halted the Huskies' run with an old fashion three-point play and the two teams traded the next four baskets as Shepherd led 68-58 with 4:09 to play. Bengel got the score under 10 with another pair of free throws but Robinson answered for the the Rams with a jumper to give Shepherd a 70-60 lead at the 3:27 mark.
 
The Huskies went on an 8-4 run over two minutes of game play to get to within six, 74-68, with 1:37 to play. The Rams pushed their lead back to seven, 75-68, with 42 seconds left before Wild hit another jumper with 35 seconds on the clock to cut the lead to five, 75-70. With less than a minute to play, the Huskies were forced to foul and the Rams hit six free throws to hang on for the 81-72 win.
 
The Huskies opened the game on a 9-2 run before the Rams used a 16-0 run to take an 18-9 lead and did not trail for the rest of the contest. The Rams shot 14-for-26 (53.8%) from the field in the first half compared to the Huskies 32.1% (9-for-28) for the 33-25 lead after the first 20 minutes.
 
Bloomsburg finished the game shooting 44.4% (24-for-54) from the field after a 57.7% (15-for-26) performance in the second half. The Rams finished shooting 29-for-52 (55.8%) from the field for the game.

Wild led the Huskies with a career-high 32 points. He shot 10-for-18 from the field and was 4-for-6 from behind the three-point line. Bengel kicked in 16 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Jake Nelson (West Chester, Pa./West Chester Rustin) finished with seven points and seven boards as well.
 
The Huskies return to action on Wednesday, January 18 when they host Shippensburg for a PSAC East contest at 7:30 p.m. Bloomsburg honors Martin Luther King Jr. with its Community Night game on January 18. There will be free admission for all fans.