BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The Bloomsburg men's basketball team held off Penn State-Hazleton, 78-54, inside the Nelson Field House in a non-conference matchup on Sunday afternoon.
 
Bloomsburg (2-3) posted its best shooting performance of the season, going 23-for-49 from the floor to post a 46.9 shooting percentage. The Huskies outing was highlighted by a stellar first half, going 12-for-21 (57.1 percent) while draining 8-of 13 three-point attempts (61.5 percent). Bloomsburg held Penn State-Hazleton (4-4) to just 34.5 percent (20-for-58) from the floor and allowed just four three-pointers on 21 attempts.
 
Xion Nichols (Woodland, Ca./State College Area) led the Huskies with 15 points in 14 minutes of play, going 5-for-6 from the floor while draining all three of his three-point attempts. Thaddeus Lee (Lancaster, Pa./Mercersburg Academy) went 5-of-7 with a pair of triples en route to finishing with 13 points and four rebounds. Sawyer Floyd (Mount Joy, Pa./Donegal) went a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line and finished with 11 points. Ries Naugle (Selinsgrove, Pa./Selinsgrove Area) tallied 10 points and recorded three assists. Overall, 13 different Huskies contributed points in the contest.
 
Bloomsburg got off to a slow start in the bout, giving up five points early while being held off the board for nearly four minutes. The maroon and gold saw its first points come by way of a three from Naugle, cutting the deficit to two points. It did not take long for Naugle to tie the game, stealing the ball from Seung Surmons and finishing the play with a dunk.
 
A pair of three-pointers from Nichols helped to push the Huskies lead to 11-7. The Lions continued to fight, eventually gaining a 16-15 lead with eight minutes to play in the first half. After Naugle tied the game with free throw, Joey Marshall (Hazleton, Pa./Hazleton) sank a three to give Bloomsburg a 19-16 advantage. From that point the Huskies never looked back, using an 18-8 run to take a 37-24 lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
Gabe Springer (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./Wallenpaupack) got Bloomsburg on the board first in the second half, taking a pass from Courtney Davis II (Gainesville, Va./Patriot) for a layup. Davis finished the contest with a game-leading four assists. A series of early shooting set the tone for the later frame of the contest as the Huskies pulled further ahead. After going attempting just seven free throws in the first half, Bloomsburg went 16-for-22 from the line in the second half. The Huskies went on to take the contest 78-54 inside the Nelson Field House, finishing the homestand with a 2-1 record.
 
Bloomsburg heads on the road on Wednesday, December 1 for an exhibition with St. Bonaventure before returning home on Saturday, December 6 for a 3 p.m. clash against California (Pa.) in the PSAC opener.