BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The Bloomsburg men's basketball team dropped a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) matchup to West Chester, 88-55, inside the Nelson Field House on Thursday night.
 
Bloomsburg (4-11, 1-8 PSAC) went 16-for-55 (29.1 percent) in Thursday's contest while going 20-for-26 (76.9 percent) from the free throw line. West Chester (12-4, 6-3) shot 41.5 percent (27-for-65) from the floor while going 28-for-39 from the charity stripe.
 
Chase Smucker (Lancaster, Pa./Lampeter-Strasburg) led the maroon and gold in scoring, recording a career-high 16 points on 5-of-12 shooting. The freshman went 3-for-9 from beyond the arc and a perfect 3-for-3 from the line. Gabe Springer (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./Wallenpaupack) posted double-digits as well, tallying 11 points on 3-for-5 shooting with five made free throws. For West Chester, Gabe Moss led the team with 20 points while going 4-for-4 from the floor and 12-for-17 from the line.
 
Early foul trouble sent the Golden Rams to the line twice in the opening two minutes, giving the visitors an early 4-0 lead. George Sabatini (Mountain Top, Pa./Holy Redeemer) drew a shooting foul 14 seconds later and got the Huskies on the board by making both free throws. It took until the 16:35-mark for the first basket from the floor, as Kodi Johnson (Folcroft, Pa./Phelps School) tied the game with a layup. A three-pointer for. Dylan Blair gave WCU the lead and forced the Huskies to play from behind for a throughout the frame.
 
Midway through the first half, Chase Smucker (Lancaster, Pa./Lampeter-Strasburg) was fouled beyond the arc, giving the freshman three shots from the line. Smucker made all three to pull Bloomsburg within a possession of the lead. West Chester slowly began pulling away once more, heading into the break with a 43-22 lead.
 
A 14-5 run from the Golden Rams allowed the visitors to keep the momentum heading into the first timeout of the half. Coming out of the break, Springer and Ries Naugle (Selinsgrove, Pa./Selinsgrove Area) teamed up to for a give-and-go that ended with a two-handed dunk from the senior forward to give some energy to the Huskies' offense. The dunk kicked off an 11-4 run over the next two minutes for Bloomsburg. The maroon and gold were unable to chip away any further, falling 88-55 to West Chester.
 
The Huskies are back on the court on Saturday, January 17 as they head to Kutztown for a 3 p.m. contest with the Golden Bears.