Betar Nets 18 for Bloomsburg in Loss to Mansfield

BLOOMSBURG-- Jesse Betar (Altoona/Altoona) scored a team-high 18 points, but the Bloomsburg University men's basketball team lost to Mansfield, 82-68, on Wednesday in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division matchup.

The Huskies held an early 8-2 lead on buckets by Larry Webster (Elkton, MD/Elkton), Bryson Mills (Williamsport/Ben Franklin), Betar and Ruben Britt (Voorhees, NJ/Eastern Regional). The Mounties, though, used a 15-1 run to grab a 17-9 lead with 13 minutes to play in the half. Bloomsburg cut the deficit to just a bucket, 24-22, on a jumper from Betar with 4:54 to go in the half, but the Mountaineers closed out the period with an 11-3 run to go in front by 10 at the break, 35-25.

After Mansfield pushed the lead to 15 points early in the second half, the Huskies used an 8-0 run to get back within seven points, 52-45, with 12:21 to go. Britt scored five points and Michael Varanavage (Philadelphia/Archbishop Ryan) hit a three-pointer in the rally.

That would be as close as the Huskies would get, though. Mansfield stretched its lead to as many as 22 in the final minutes before the Huskies ended on a 7-0 in the final minute to make the final margin 14 points.

Along with Betar's 18 points, Mills added 11 points for the Huskies. Mansfield got 21 points from Tony Fannick, while Ryan Callahan added 20.

Bloomsburg will end its season on Saturday at 3 p.m. hosting Kutztown.