Huskies Rally Falls Short at District of Columbia

WASHINGTON D.C- The Bloomsburg University men's basketball team nearly erased an 18 point deficit with less than four minutes to play but came up short, falling to District of Columbia 76-73 on Friday night.

District of Columbia (10-6) looked to have an easy victory after two free throws gave them a commanding 67-49 lead with just 3:56 remaining. Bloomsburg, 9-9, would then go on a furious rally, scoring on nine straight possessions. Nick Jones (Rosedale, NY/ St. Francis (NY) started the rally hitting a three-pointer on the next possession. Billy Bryan (Denver/ Holy Name) then connected on a lay-up and a three-pointer on the following two possessions to cut the lead to 67-57 with 2:53 to go in the game.

After each team exchanged baskets, Bryan connected from beyond the arc to cut the lead to 69-62. The Huskies got a stop on defense and Bryan scored again to narrow the lead to five points with 1:32 remaining. After each teams exchanged baskets, Jones hit another three pointer to cut the Firebirds lead to 71-69 with 51 seconds remaining.

With seven seconds remaining, the Huskies found themselves down three with a chance to send the game into overtime. However, District of Columbia's Justin Walker stole the ball to seal the victory for the Firebirds. The Huskies had closed the game with a 24-9 run but fell just short.

Bloomsburg closed the first half with a big run as well. The Huskies trailed by 15 points with 7:42 to go but erased the large deficit by going on a 21-5 run to close out the half. Bloomsburg would take a 35-34 lead into the locker room. Matt Jefferson (Philadelphia/ George Washington) led the way with eight points and two blocked shots during the run.

Jefferson led the Huskies with 22 points, while Bryan added 18 points and Nick Jones added 14. Antwon Hawkins scored a team-high 21 points for District of Columbia.

The Huskies will host West Chester on Monday at 7:30 p.m.