CALIFORNIA, Pa. – The Bloomsburg men's basketball team survived a nail-biting contest against California (Pa.) to pick up an 86-84 inside the Convocation Center on Tuesday night.
 
Matt Bengel (Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep) finished the game with a team-leading 30 points while recording 24 points in the second half. The senior guard also tallied four rebounds, three steals, an assist and a block. Bengel went 11-for-17 from the floor and 3-for-4 from beyond the arc.
 
Kent Olewiler (York, Pa./William Penn) posted a career-high in points with 17 points of 7-of-9 shooting while Tony Henderson (Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice) finished with 11 points, two rebounds and two steals. Louie Wild (Philadelphia, PA/Roman Catholic) lead the team in assists (5) and rebounds (5).
 
Overall, Bloomsburg (2-9, 1-3 PSAC) shoot 33-for-56 (58.9 percent) in the contest to post its best shooting percent of the season and best since January 9, 2019, against Wilmington (41-66 / 62.1 percent). The Huskies held California (Pa.) (6-7, 1-4) to 28-of-73 shooting (38.4 percent).
 
Bengel got the Huskies on the board a minute in with a three-pointer before the Vulcans responded with a three of their own to level the score. A layup from Bengel gave the maroon and gold the lead once more. The two teams traded the lead again and brought the score to 9-7 in favor of Bloomsburg. Jagger Dressler (Danville, Pa./Danville) put an end to a three-minute scoring drought at 12:05 with a triple to give the Huskies their first multi-possession.
 
Bloomsburg extended its lead to as large as 13 points in the first half, highlighted by 13-5 run that saw Olewiler record ten-straight points. Cal closed the gap slightly towards the end of the half, but a three from Wild with six seconds left pushed the Huskies' lead to 36-25 heading into halftime.
 
The second half saw the Vulcans get on the board first before the Danny Bruce (Edinboro, Pa./General McLane) managed a quick response with an assist from Wild. Bloomsburg achieved its largest lead of the game at the 10:29 minute mark with a layup from Mondyu Richards (Silver Spring, Md./Albert Einstein) to give the maroon and gold a 58-43 lead.
 
Foul trouble and turnovers late in the contest opened the door for the Vulcans to bring the game back within reach, erasing a nine-point deficit in the final three minutes and twenty-nine seconds. With four seconds left the home team had a chance to send the game to overtime, but a mishandled pass rolled out of bounds and allowed the Huskies to hold on for an 86-84 victory.
 
Bloomsburg returns to Nelson Field House on Saturday, December 21st for its final contest before the new year as they host Edinboro at 1 p.m.