Huskies Rally to Edge Kutztown

BLOOMSBURG- The Bloomsburg University men's basketball team rallied from a 21-point deficit with just 8:30 remaining to defeat Kutztown University 82-80 on Saturday afternoon. The Huskies closed the game with a 33-10 run to earn the victory.

Trailing 70-49 with 8:30 remaining, Billy Bryan (Denver/ Holy Name) scored on three straight possessions in between a Kutztown basket to cut the lead to 72-55 with 6:10 remaining. Bloomsburg then cut the lead to 12 points on a dunk by Niko Traykov (Bulgaria/ St. Francis, NY) and three-point play by Drew Jerry (Philadelphia/ Olney). The Golden Bears responded with two straight buckets to put them up by 16 points with 4:43 to play and looked to regain control of the game.

However, the Huskies would spark another rally and cut the lead to nine points after two free throws by Nick Jones (Rosedale, NY/ St. Francis, NY) with 2:24 remaining. Jones then stole the in-bounds pass and passed it to Traykov for an easy lay-up. Jones then forced another turnover on Kutztown's next possession. The Huskies drove down court and Traykov found Jerry for a wide open three-pointer. Jerry connected on the shot and the Huskies trailed by just four points with a 1:54 left.

After another defensive stop, the Huskies John Allen (Hatfield/ Millersville) hit a lay-up to cut the lead to just two points. On their next possession Kutztown turned the ball over again and then fouled Jones. Jones hit one of two free throws to cut the lead to 80-79. Kutztown then had a chance to extend their lead after Bloomsburg fouled to send them to the line. Kutztown missed the one-and-one, but got the rebound only to turn the ball over again. Jerry was fouled on the play and was sent to the line for two free throws. Jerry connected on both free throws to give Bloomsburg an 81-80 lead.

Kutztown had one more chance to get the win but Traykov drew a charge when Kutztown's Ben Davis tried to drive the lane. Traykov hit one of two free throws to give Bloomsburg an 82-80 lead with just three seconds left. Kutztown could not get a shot off on their final possession and the Huskies had won the game.

In the first half, Bloomsburg jumped out to an early 7-2 advantage on a jumper by Billy Bryan with 17:07 left in the first half. Three minutes later, with the Huskies leading 12-8, Drew Jerry connected on a three-pointer to extend their lead to seven points.

Kutztown would slowly chip into the Huskies lead and then took a 22-21 lead on a jumper by Sean McKeon with 8:39 remaining. The two teams were tied 27-27 with 5:04 left in the half until Kutztown went on a 8-0 run over the next two minutes to lead 35-27. McKeon scored four points during the run. Bloomsburg would cut the Kutztown lead to five and trailed 36-31 at halftime.

With the win, the Huskies improve to 10-13, 2-6 in the PSAC East. It is the first time they have reached 10 wins since the 2001-02 season.

Bloomsburg will visit East Stroudsburg on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m.