Huskies Blow 20-Point Lead on Senior Night

Louie+Wild+surveys+the+defense.+Picture+via+Athletic+Marketing+and+Communications

Louie Wild surveys the defense. Picture via Athletic Marketing and Communications

Jack Dixon, Sports Editor

The Huskies men’s basketball team finished their season in dramatic fashion, losing to West Chester after being up big on senior night.

In the first half, the Huskies’ offense looked good, trading buckets with West Chester. The game was tight, but Bloomsburg would start to pull away with about two minutes left in the half. The Huskies went into the locker room with an 11-point lead after a 10-3 run to close out the half.

West Chester came out of halftime locked in, chopping down the lead to just one with 15 minutes to go. But the huskies answered the challenge this time, going on a 22-5 run. Bloomsburg found themselves up 20 against the no. 2 team in the conference with just 5:35 remaining.

West Chester started to wake up after drilling two jumpers in a row. The Golden Rams’ press was also starting to shake the Huskies. Capitalizing on the Huskies’ struggles, West Chester would go on a 24-4 run, tying up the game after forcing eight turnovers in the final 4:35 of regulation.

In overtime, the Huskies and Golden Rams went back and forth for the first four buckets. Then with just over two minutes remaining West Chester would grab their first lead since 6:46 in the first half. West Chester clawed their way back and wasn’t going to let the lead slip. After two-straight baskets by the Golden Rams, Matt Bengel hit a three-pointer to bring the Huskies within one with 1:09 remaining. But West Chester’s Kyle McGee drew a foul on a jump shot with 20 seconds to go. He buried both putting West Chester up 3. The Huskies’ last chance was a three-quarter court heave by Matt Bengel, which hit the right side of the rim and bounce out.

Bengel played a great game, scoring 28 points to go along with five steals and nine rebounds. Senior Jake Nelson also had a stellar performance in his last game at Nelson Field House, scoring 19 points and hauling in 15 boards.

The Huskies finished the season with a 1-25 record, finishing last in the conference. With very few players graduating this spring, there shouldn’t be much turnover on their roster. This will be a good opportunity for growth, and they’ll need to iron out some kinks before next season if they hope to be competitive.