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WEST CHESTER, Pa. - Coming off two conference road losses, the No. 20 West Chester University men's basketball team returned home to Hollinger Field House on Saturday to take on Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division opponent Bloomsburg University.
The Golden Rams entered Saturday's contest not only looking to snap its current two-game losing, but WCU also had revenge on its mind, as the Huskies snapped West Chester's historic 12-game winning streak to start the season by downing the Golden Rams 98-90 on January 8. Although West Chester managed to come back in the second half and take the lead late, the home team was unable to silence Bloomsburg's Christian Mortellite down the stretch - as the senior scored five of his game-high 37 points over the final minute to give the Huskies the 86-78 victory on Saturday evening.
West Chester's third-straight loss drops WCU to 15-4 overall and 11-4 in league games. With both Shippensburg and East Stroudsburg notching wins on Saturday night, the Golden Rams fall to third in the PSAC Eastern Division standings ahead of their game against Millersville at home on Wednesday. Conversely, the Huskies improve to 11-8 on the year behind a 7-8 mark in conference play after handing West Chester its first home loss of the season (9-1) on Saturday.
Bloomsburg came out of the gate on fire, kicking off the first half with a 10-0 run over the first three minutes of action. The Huskies held a double-digit advantage for a majority of the opening frame, until a jumper by
Matt Penecale (Jenkintown, Pa. / Abington) brought the home team within eight (37-29) with just under three minutes remaining. Following back-to-back Bloomsburg free throws,
Evan-Eric Longino (Furlong, Pa./Germantown Academy) and Penecale combined to score the next five-straight points for the Golden Rams to trim the WCU deficit to 39-34 with 1:03 to play. A three-pointer by
Colin Daly (Havertown, Pa. / Archbishop Carroll) hacked the BU advantage to four (41-37) with 38 ticks remaining, but the Huskies answered back with a layup from Sam Saxton as time expired to put the visitors on top 43-37 heading into the locker rooms.
The Huskies pushed their cushion back into double figures to start the second half, but the home team was able to take the hit and swing right back in front of a packed crowd at the Hollinger Field House. Starting the half down six, the Golden Rams strung together a 16-7 run – capped by a triple from Longino – to take their first lead of the second stanza (53-52) with 13:19 to play. WCU held that lead for the next 10-plus minutes, until a 7-0 run by the Huskies knotted the score at 72-72 with just over three minutes remaining in regulation. The Golden Rams halted the Bloomsburg run with a three-pointer by
Steve Smith (Ambler, Pa. / La Salle) to put the home team up three, but the Huskies answered back with an 8-0 spurt to put the visitors back on top 80-75 with under a minute to play. Bloomsburg closed out the game by converting on six of its last seven shots from the charity stripe to seal the 86-78 win for the Huskies and to give BU the season sweep of the Golden Rams for the 2017-18 campaign.
Longino paced the West Chester attack with a career-high 24 points in 24 minutes off the bench.
Tyrell Long (Philadelphia, Pa. / Bishop McDevitt),
Jackson Hyland (Avondale, Pa. / Kennett), and Penecale all notched 13 points in the loss, with Long adding a team-high 10 rebounds and six assists against the Huskies. Led by Longino, the Golden Rams' bench held a 34-16 scoring advantage over BU's squad and West Chester ended the game with a +10 advantage in second chance points (24-14) in the losing effort.
Bloomsburg's Christian Mortellite led all scorers with 37 points on Saturday without missing a shot from the field (12-of-12) or from beyond the arc (6-of-6) in the win.
