March 2, 2002

Huskies Fall to Cal in PSAC Semifinals

Game Box Score

CHEYNEY--The Bloomsburg University men's basketball team's bid to reach the finals of the 2002 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference came to an end Saturday with a 68-66 loss to California (PA) in the semifinal game played at Cheyney University. The Huskies end their season with a 14-14 record. The game was close in the opening five minutes and was tied for the fourth time when the Vulcans Tom Frederick scored on a layup to knot the game at 12-12. Bloomsburg then jumped ahead 18-15 on a pair of free throws by Aaron Carter with 10:16 left in the first half.

California rallied and went ahead 27-23 when Ishmieal Kamara hit a conventional three-point play with 6:24 left in the first half. Bloomsburg then closed out the half with a 14-4 run to lead 37-31 at the break. Leading the comeback for Bloomsburg was freshman Seth Scott who came off the bench to score six points, including a dunk with 31 seconds left in the half.

Bloomsburg maintained its six-point lead through the first seven minutes of the second before the Vulcans went on a big run. Trailing 43-37 with 13:21 left to play, California outscored the Huskies 12-0 over the next three minutes, keyed by five points from Gerrmar Ballard and Ryan Stefanski. Bloomsburg stopped the run with a jumper by Adam Bohman at the 10 minute mark. The then went ahead, 52-49, on a Carter jumper. California battled back and grabbed a 61-56 with five minute to play on a three-pointer by Stefanski. But, once again the Huskies would not give up. A three-pointer by Jay DeShields made it 62-59 before a pair of free throws by Ryan Hewitt cut the margin to one at 62-61 with 4:11 to play. After Kamara pushed the lead to three, 64-61, Hewitt drained a three-pointer, his first of the season, to tie the score at 64-64 with 1:58 to play.

Cal's Tom Frederick was fouled with 1:37 to play and hit one of two for a one-point Vulcan lead before Adam Bohman was fouled and hit both free throws giving the Huskies a 65-64 lead with 1:19 to play. The game winning shot was then hit by Stefanski, a three-pointer, giving the Vulcans a 68-66 lead with 1:06 to left. After Bohman missed a jumper for Bloomsburg, the Vulcans got the rebound and ran the clock down before Kamara missed a jumper with 14 seconds left to play. Ryan Luckman rebounded for Bloomsburg and his running jumper was off the mark with time winding down. Bohman rebounded for the Huskies with one second left to set up one last chance for the Huskies. After two timeouts, Aaron Carter's three-point shot was off the mark giving California the win.

Bloomsburg's effort was hampered by the loss of forward Tom Barlow in the first half due to a shoulder injury. Barlow, a double-figure scorer, was limited to just seven minutes of action and three points.

Cal was led by Stefanski with 22 points, 19 of the coming in the second half. Kamara and Ballard each added 15 for the Vulcans, now 23-5.

Bloomsburg was led by DeShields with 13 points, including three, three-pointers. DeShields finished the season with 82 three-pointers, a school-single season record. Adam Bohman added 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Luckman and Carter chipped in with 10 points each. Ryan Hewitt scored nine points off the bench, while Scott added seven.