Bloomsburg Athletics

FAIRMONT, W.Va. – The Bloomsburg men's basketball team defeated West Virginia Wesleyan, 98-93, at the Joe Retton Classic in a non-conference matchup on Saturday night.
 
Tony Henderson (Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice) posted the first points of the game for Bloomsburg (1-1), draining a three from top of the arc with an assist from Louie Wild (Philadelphia, PA/Roman Catholic).
 
The Huskies and West Virginia Wesleyan (1-1) traded lead several times through the first half. The maroon and gold claimed the largest lead of the half with just under two minutes to play when Wild hit a jumper to give Bloomsburg a 46-35 lead.
 
Bloomsburg led 48-40 at the half after hitting 20-of-36 shots in the opening two.
 
A 22-9 run to open the half gave the Huskies a 21-point lead just over six minutes into the second half.
 
The Bobcats built momentum in the late stages of the game but were unable to complete the comeback as Bloomsburg held on for their first win of the season.
 
Jake Nelson (West Chester, Pa./West Chester Rustin) fell one rebound short of a 20-20 double-double, with a career-high 19 rebounds and matching a career-high in points with 25. Desmond Freeman (Greensboro, N.C./Southeast Guilford) went 5-for-9 from the floor, finishing with 12 points.
 
Bloomsburg got major contributions from the bench, with Raphael Castillo (Newark, N.J./Morristown Beard) dropping 15 points in 22 minutes. Matt Bengel (Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep) posted 14 points in 24 minutes, while Jagger Dressler (Danville, Pa./Danville) hit a pair of threes to finish with ten points in ten minutes.
 
Overall, the Huskies shot 53.4 percent from the floor (39-for-73) and recorded 52 of their 98 points in the paint.
 
Bloomsburg returns to action on Wednesday, November 15 as they take on Caldwell in their home-opener at 6 p.m.