BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The Bloomsburg men's basketball team saw its comeback bid fall short in 68-63 loss to Mansfield in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) matchup inside Nelson Field House on Friday night.
 
Louie Wild (Philadelphia, PA/Roman Catholic) posted team-highs with 20 points, three steals and drained five three-pointers. Matt Bengel (Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep) fell just short of a double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds while recording four assists. Tony Henderson (Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice) notched 11 points and three assists.
 
Bloomsburg (2-11, 1-5 PSAC) shot 35.9 percent from the floor (23-for-63) while Mansfield (5-8, 2-4) managed 38.9 percent (21-for-54) shooting in the contest.
 
The Mountaineers' Sterling Scott recorded the first points of the contest with a jumper before Wild responded with a three-pointer to give the Huskies the lead early on. Mansfield regained control with a pair of made free-throws before extending the lead to 10-5. Wild kept the Huskies close by nailing his second triple of the game.
 
The visitors then went on a 14-3 run that spanned five minutes of game action, holding a 24-11 lead with 8:16 to play in the first half. From there, the two teams traded points for the remainder of the half. The Mountaineers led 36-23 going into the locker room at halftime.
 
Bloomsburg and Mansfield both struggled to find the basket in the early goings of the second half, with the Mountaineers scoring the first points nearly two minutes in on a layup from Julian Wilson.
 
Trailing by 15 points, the Huskies slowly clawed away at the lead over the next eight minutes. A three-pointer from Wild at the 10:25 mark pulled Bloomsburg withing one before a steal-and-score from Henderson put the maroon and gold ahead 43-42. Back-and-forth exchanges moved the score to 55-51 before a three from Owen Chambers gave Mansfield a late cushion. The Huskies were unable to complete a second comeback, falling 68-63.
 
Bloomsburg returns to action on Monday, January 6 as they travel to Shippensburg for an 8 p.m. contest inside Heiges Field House.