KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Bloomsburg men's basketball team could not hold on for a win at Kutztown, falling on the road 75-72 heartbreakingly.

In total, six Huskies finished the game with double-digit points. Travis Elmore (Tobyhanna, Pa./Pocono Mountain West) led the Huskies with a team and season-high 14 in the defeat. Kyle Saglimben (Langhorne, Pa./Neshaminy) had a career-best 11 points with three rebounds in his first career start. Matt Bengel (Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep) contributed in all phases of the game, recording his second career double-double after finishing the game with 11 points and 10 rebounds while blocking a career-high four shots. 

Bloomsburg falls to 5-19 overall on the season with a 3-14 record in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). Kutztown improves to 4-21 with a 3-16 record in conference action.

How It Happened: The Huskies had the better of the early going of the contest, finding opportunities through the opening minutes to find offensive answers. The game started back and forth, with the teams trading baskets. After surrendering the lead for the first time, Jagger Dressler (Danville, Pa./Danville) hit a three to regain the lead at 10-8. Bengel helped keep the lead at four as Bloomsburg continued to knock down shots.

The back-and-forth nature of the game continued as Kutztown regained the lead at 22-21, leading to a sequence of seven lead changes in 90 seconds that saw the Huskies come out on top 27-26 with nine minutes to play in the first half. As the defenses began to settle in, Bloomsburg found the avenues to growing its advantage to double digits off an 11-0 run for a 36-26 edge. After only one point was scored between the two sides after several minutes, Kameron Roberts hit a pair of triples to cut the Huskies' lead to three with just over a minute to play in the opening half. Mondyu Richards (Silver Spring, Md./Albert Einstein) and Bengel attacked the paint en route to four points and a 40-33 lead for the Huskies at the break. 

The two teams held the status quo out of the break, with both offenses looking to propel their teams into the latter stages of the game. After Kutztown brought the score back within two at 47-45, Louie Wild (Philadelphia, PA/Roman Catholic) and Elmore each had important shots to keep it a two-possession contest. Saglimben's second three of the game and Elmore's aggressive play in the paint helped the Huskies make it a 60-51 contest with just over 10 minutes to play.

The magic number for the Golden Bears in the second half was six, as the home team continued to find opportunities to maintain a fighting chance with a two-possession game. In the end, the final four minutes belonged to Kutztown, first using a 7-0 run to cut the lead to one with three minutes remaining and a second 7-0 burst to close the game for a 75-72 win. The Huskies were outscored 14-6 in the final four minutes of the contest.

On the Horizon:
The Huskies are on the road with another PSAC matchup on Wednesday, February 21, at 7:30 p.m. against East Stroudsburg.