SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. – The Bloomsburg men's basketball fell on the road to Shepherd, 81-71, in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) matchup at the Butcher Athletic Center on Saturday afternoon.
 
Bloomsburg (5-18, 4-12 PSAC) battled Shepherd (15-8, 11-5) in a tightly contested first half before a second-half surge lifted the Rams to victory over the Huskies.
 
Kent Olewiler (York, Pa./William Penn) led the contest in scoring, posting a career-high 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Seniors Louie Wild (Philadelphia, PA/Roman Catholic) and Matt Bengel (Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep) each finished the game with 15 points. Wild went a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line while recording five assists and four rebounds. Bengel went 7-for 13 from the floor while tallying four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
 
Overall, the Huskies shot 43.6 percent (24-for-55) from the floor while the Shepherd shot an even 50 percent (30-for-60) on the day.
 
A three-pointer from the Rams' Jarod Robinson put the home team ahead early. After several misses from either side, Bengel nailed a jumper to put the maroon and gold on the board. From there, Shepherd and Bloomsburg went shot-for-shot until a three-pointer from Olewiler gave the Huskies their first lead of the contest at 10-8. The game remained close throughout the remainder of the first half with the first with neither side taking a lead larger than three points. The score was tied 36-36 at halftime.
 
Danny Bruce (Edinboro, Pa./General McLane) drained an early three-pointer in the second half to give the Huskies a 39-36 lead. After a nearly three-minute stretch with no scoring, Shepherd hit back-to-back triples to take a 42-39 advantage. Tony Henderson (Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice) responded with a three-pointer to tie the game at 42-42.
 
The Rams hit another three-pointer before Chase Paar gave the home team the first multi-possession lead of the contest. Shepherd converted the and-one before sinking another layup to cap off an 8-0 run that put them ahead 50-42. The Huskies clawed away at the lead to bring the game withing two points before the Rams charged ahead once more to seal the victory, 81-71.
 
Men's basketball returns to Nelson Field House on Wednesday, February 12 for a 5:30 PM contest against East Stroudsburg.