BLOOMBURG, Pa. – The Bloomsburg men's basketball team dropped a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) game to IUP, 87-55, inside the Nelson Field House on Saturday afternoon.
 
Bloomsburg (2-6, 0-3 PSAC) ended the contest going 20-for-52 (38.5 percent) with six three-pointers. The second half saw the Huskies go 11-for-26 (42.31 percent) and 5-for-11 from beyond the arc. IUP (7-1, 2-0) tallied 11 threes on the day while posting a 44.4 percent (28-for-63) field goal percentage. The second half saw the Crimson Hawks shoot above 50 percent on 15-for-29 shooting.
 
Xion Nichols (Woodland, Ca./State College Area) matched his career-high in points with 15, going 6-for-7 on the night with a trio of three pointers. A perfect 6-for-6 night from the free-throw line from Kodi Johnson (Folcroft, Pa./Phelps School) helped elevate the freshman to double-digits points. Johnson also hauled in seven rebounds on the board.
 
An early foul put the Crimson Hawks on the free-throw line, allowing Dallis Dillard to give IUP a 1-0 lead. After Dillard missed the second free throw, Gabe Springer (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./Wallenpaupack) hauled in the rebound and worked the ball up the floor. The ball eventually made its way to George Sabatini (Mountain Top, Pa./Holy Redeemer) who got Bloomsburg on the board with a layup.
 
A miss from IUP give the Huskies possession once more, allowing Springer to score and give the maroon and gold an early 4-1 lead. A pair of free throws and a three-pointer put the Crimson Hawks back on top. Courtney Davis II (Gainesville, Va./Patriot) then tied the game with a jumper from the top of the paint before Johnson regained the lead for Bloomsburg with a pair of free throws. Another jumper from Davis gave the home team a 10-6 lead.
 
A 10-point run from IUP allowed the visitors to take the lead once more, 16-10, around halfway through the frame. Bloomsburg pulled within one at the halfway mark, with a three-pointer from Nichols and a layup from Sabatini. The second half of the frame saw IUP surge ahead, taking a 45-25 lead into halftime.
 
Bloomsburg came out of the halftime break and quickly worked to cut into the Crimson Hawks lead. A 16-7 run over the first five minutes of the half saw the Huskies record three triples with two of them from Nichols. Bloomsburg was unable to cut into the lead further as IUP moved ahead to win 87-55.
 
The Huskies are right back in action on Sunday, December 21 as they host Seton Hill at 3 p.m. in a non-conference matchup.