BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The men's basketball team fell to Kutztown 78-69 in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division contest at home Wednesday evening. 
 
The Huskies (1-24, 1-20 PSAC) battled throughout as the contest saw four different lead changes and three different ties as the squad attempted to overcome a double-digit deficit. After trailing by as much as 18 in the second half, Bloomsburg battled back to cut its deficit to just one point with 3:17 remaining in the game, but Kutztown (10-17, 9-12 PSAC) finished the game on a 12-3 scoring run to take the nine-point road victory. 
 
Bloomsburg was led in scoring by Jake Nelson (West Chester, Pa./West Chester Rustin), who finished with a 19-point double-double. Nelson led all players in rebounds with 11 and finished the game shooting 8-for-20 from the floor. Desmond Freeman (Greensboro, N.C./Southeast Guilford) was a perfect 2-for-2 from three-point range and scored 14 points to go along with three assists and one steal. 
 
Louie Wild (Philadelphia, PA/Roman Catholic) was the third and final Husky to finish with ten or more points, totaling 13 on four made field goals to go along with a perfect 4-for-4 clip from the free-throw line. Jagger Dressler (Danville, Pa./Danville) added eight points off the bench and Dylan Harris (Bloomsburg, Pa./Central Columbia) was 2-for-2 from three-point land in 12 minutes off the bench.
 
Kutztown's Jalen Bryant led all players in scoring with 22. Kyree Green also had a 20-game, finishing with exactly 20 points on an 8-for-11 shooting night to go along with six assists, which led all players in Wednesday's game. Robert Tucker was the team's third starter in double figures and had 13 points, and Wesley Butler added 12 off the bench. 
 
The Golden Bears took the first lead of the game by scoring on its first possession, and the Huskies were able to gain their first lead two minutes later after Freeman knocked down a three-pointer that was assisted by Bengel after he grabbed an offensive rebound. The Huskies scored four more unanswered points to stretch their lead to 9-4, but that would go on to be their largest lead of the game as Kutztown answered with a 12-4 scoring run to regain the lead. 
 
Kutztown held on to its lead for the remainder of the first half and took a 38-32 lead into halftime. 
 
The Golden Eagles kept their foot on the gas to start the second half as they scored the first 12 points of the frame to take an 18-point lead three minutes in. The Huskies looked to answer the same way they did the first time these two teams met on Jan. 25, which is when Bloomsburg erased a 17-point deficit to beat Kutztown for their only win of the season, and they nearly did.
 
Unable to cut into the deficit for the first nine minutes of the half, Bloomsburg trailed 59-41 with 11:34 to go before staging a comeback. Back-to-back buckets by Dressler, then back-to-back buckets by Freeman brought the Huskies back to within 11, then a field goal by Nelson made it a single-digit game as Kutztown went cold shooting on the other end of the floor. Dressler then converted an and-one opportunity, and Bloomsburg took advantage of a Kutztown turnover on the ensuing possession as a bucket by Nelson on the other end made it a 62-58 game. Following another Kutztown turnover and media timeout, Nelson scored again to make it a one-possession game at 62-60.
 
Nelson's final bucket that made it a two-point game capped off a 19-3 scoring run that lasted 6:41. During that span, Nelson had six points while Dressler had seven and Freeman had six. On the end of the scoring run, Kutztown went 1-for-6 from the field and had four turnovers.
 
The Golden Bears scored on its next two possessions following Nelson's basket to regain a six-point lead, but a layup by Kemble and and-one by Nelson on back-to-back possessions made the score 66-65 in favor of Kutztown with 3:17 left in the game. Kutztown received a clutch three from Butler on its next possession, then a jumper by Generett stretched its lead back to six. Bryant scored on the team's following possession to make it an eight-point game, and then Bloomsburg was forced to foul in an attempt to extend the game. 
 
The Huskies received a big boost with their ability to score on second-chance opportunities as the team finished with 13 offensive rebounds and 18 second-chance points. Bloomsburg also knocked down eight three-point field goals and went 8-for-23 (34.8%). In total, the Huskies were 27-for-68 (39.7%) from the floor.  
 
Kutztown finished the game shooting 50.8% (31-for-61) from the field and scored 34 of its points in the paint. The Golden Bears also scored 19 points in transition and converted 11 Bloomsburg turnovers into 18 points.
 
Bloomsburg will close out its 2022-23 schedule with a home game against West Chester (20-7, 15-6 PSAC) on Saturday. The game is scheduled to tip off at 1:00 PM.