MANSFIELD, Pa. – The Bloomsburg men's basketball team came up short in a spirited Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) bout against Mansfield, 72-68, on Wednesday night.
 
Bloomsburg (7-18, 4-14 PSAC) shot 48 percent from the floor (24-for-50) while draining six three-pointers on the night. The second half saw the Huskies go 11-for-20 (55 percent) while going 12-for-16 from the free throw line. Mansfield (3-22, 2-17) shot 39.3 percent (22-for-56) on the night and went 22-for-32 at the charity stripe.
 
Ries Naugle (Selinsgrove, Pa./Selinsgrove Area) dropped 17 points in the contest, leading the Huskies with a 6-for-12 shooting performance. The redshirt-freshman also notched three assists, three rebounds, two steals and a block.
 
Courtney Davis II (Gainesville, Va./Patriot) and Chase Smucker (Lancaster, Pa./Lampeter-Strasburg) each finished with 13 points. Davis went 4-for-7 and 5-for-6 from the line. Smucker went 4-for-9 including a team-leading three triples. George Sabatini (Mountain Top, Pa./Holy Redeemer) posted 11 points, going 5-for-10 from the floor. Gabe Springer (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./Wallenpaupack) finished just shy of a double-double, ending the game with nine points and nine rebounds.
 
Springer put the Huskies on the board first, laying in a pass from Naugle just over a minute in. The maroon and gold continued to put the pressure on the Mountaineers, as a layup from Smucker and a three from Naugle put the visitors up 7-0. Mansfield finally got on the board at the 16-minute mark as Jackson Henry made a three-throw. The free-throw was immediately answered with a layup from Naugle to extend the lead to 9-1.
 
Sabatini and Camden Glass (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver Falls) grew the Bloomsburg advantage to 15-5 before a 12-0 run pushed Mansfield to a 17-15 lead. From there, the two sides traded the lead six times before the end of the first half. The Mountaineers went into the locker room with a 33-31 lead.
 
Springer pulled the maroon and gold within one on a free throw to start the half before a dunk from Naugle put Bloomsburg ahead 34-33. Mansfield's Sterling Scott immediately responded with a dunk of his own, setting the tone for a back-and-forth second frame.
 
The Huskies and the Mountaineers fought tooth and nail for the entire to gain the momentum in the bout. It took until the final six minutes of the game for either side to gain a two-possession lead, as Mansfield's Diarmid Stewart sank a three to put the home team up 55-50.
 
Mansfield slowly pulled away late in the frame, moving to a 64-56 lead with three minutes to play. Bloomsburg battled its way back, going on a 12-6 run to pull withing two with three seconds to go. The Huskies fell short in the end, dropping the contest, 72-68, to the Mountaineers.
 
Bloomsburg is back on the court on Saturday, February 21 as the host Millersville for Senior Day at 3 p.m. inside the Nelson Field House.