BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – A block from Desmond Freeman (Greensboro, N.C./Southeast Guilford) in the final seconds of the game helped lift Bloomsburg men's basketball to an 80-78 win over Kutztown in a back-and-forth Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) contest inside Nelson Field House on Saturday afternoon.
 
Kutztown (2-15, 1-10 PSAC) opened the scoring 21 seconds in with a fastbreak three-pointer from Juju Pagan. Bloomsburg (4-12, 2-8 PSAC) responded with a layup from Jake Nelson (West Chester, Pa./West Chester Rustin) before junior Matt Bengel (Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep) jumped on a Golden Bears' pass to record a steal and dunk to take the lead.
 
The contest remained close for a majority of the half, with nine total lead changes.
 
A Louie Wild (Philadelphia, PA/Roman Catholic) triple at the 3:56-minute mark saw the Huskies take the first two-possession lead of the game.
 
An and-one from Justin Rodriguez (Newark, N.J./Morristown-Beard) put Bloomsburg up, 42-30, with under two minutes to play in the frame. The Huskies took a 44-38 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
 
Bloomsburg found itself with 10 fouls just over halfway through the second, allowing Kutztown to stay within reach.
 
Up 80-75 in the final minute, a three-pointer from Amir Cunningham put the Golden Bears within two. A missed jumper as the shot clock expired gave KU one final chance to tie the game.
 
A fake shot from beyond the arc gave Kameron Roberts an open lane to the basket. His layup attempt met the hands of Freeman, who picked up his seventh career block in the dying seconds of the contest.
 
The Huskies shot 48.4 percent (30-for-62) from the field while holding Kutztown to 44.1 percent (26-for-59). Three-point shooting proved to be a major factor in the contest as Bloomsburg held the Golden Bears to 7-of-21 shooting from three-point territory while shooting 43.8 percent, including 4-of-6 in the second half.
 
Bengel recorded his fourth 20-point performance of the season, going 8-of-13 from the floor and 2-for-2 beyond the arc.
 
Wild drained a trio of three-pointers en route to 15 points in the contest, while Nelson posted 10 points and six rebounds.
 
Rodriguez served as an important piece off the bench, as he amassed a team-leading six assists and three steals.
 
The Huskies return to action on Wednesday, January 24 as they host East Stroudsburg at 7:30 p.m. inside Nelson Field House.