SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV – The men's basketball team fell to Shepherd 65-37 during an away Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division contest Saturday afternoon.
The Huskies (1-21, 1-17 PSAC) fell behind early on, and Shepherd (13-11, 10-8 PSAC) was able to take advantage and pull off the 28-point victory.
Bloomsburg was led in scoring by
Matt Bengel (Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep), who finished with 11 points and four rebounds.
Desmond Freeman (Greensboro, N.C./Southeast Guilford) had seven points and
Ash Kemble (Myerstown, Pa./Fork Union Military Academy) finished with six.
Jake Nelson (West Chester, Pa./West Chester Rustin) had five points and eight rebounds, and
Jagger Dressler (Danville, Pa./Danville) added five points.
Shepherd finished with four different players in double figures. Aidan Hughley led the way with 18 points, and Jon Preston and Carson Poffenberger each scored 11. Phillip Jordan was the fourth and final player in double figures with 10.
The Rams got off to a solid start and scored the first eight points of the game to go up early on. A pair of three pointers by Bengel and Freeman on back-to-back possessions made it a two-point game at 8-6, but that would be as close as Bloomsburg would get to taking the lead as Shepherd went on another 8-0 scoring run to take its first double-digit lead of the game.
From that point, the Rams never looked back, and a stifling defensive performance kept Shepherd on top by double-digits for the remainder of the game. After it was an 8-6 game in the first half, the Rams went on a 37-7 scoring run over the next 20 minutes of play to put the game away.
Shepherd's defense played a big part in the victory as it held Bloomsburg to a 29.8% (14-for-47) shooting performance.
For the Rams, they shot the ball 43.4% (23-for-53) for the game and knocked down 11 three-point field goals. Preston and Poffenberger each hit three threes, and Jordan and Hughley both had two.
The Huskies will be back in action with a road game at Mansfield on Wednesday, Feb. 15. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7:30 PM.
