Running their game plan with near perfection, the Penn State Wilkes-Barre men's basketball team downed NCAA Division II opponent Bloomsburg University Wednesday, November 17 with a final score of 73-70.
Travis Dunlap calmly nailed a three-pointer to open the scoring, and Shawn Washington answered a Bloomsburg dunk early in the game with a two handed slam-dunk of his own to set the tone for the evening. Every time Huskies threatened, the Mountain Lions had an answer, attacking Bloomsburg's full court pressure when they had the opportunity and executing their half-court offense with deliberate effectiveness, taking a 32-23 lead with them to the locker room after the first half.
Both teams exchanged scoring sprees in the second half, but Penn State Wilkes-Barre kept the pressure on. Matt Clemons scored back-to-back baskets to build the lead to 61-45 at the 6:15 mark of the second half. Freshman Desmond Simms broke free for a backboard rattling dunk to spark a 6-0 run as the Mountain Lions built their largest lead of the night, 67-48, with 3:25 left in the game.
After using their 19 point lead to run out the clock and seal the win, Keith Johnson intentionally missed a free throw with 2.4 seconds to go and a 73-67 lead. A three-quarter-court desperation heave by Bloomsburg's Dontahe Jordan banked in as time expired for the final margin of 73-70. Jordan finished with a game high 18 points.
"That was fun," said Scott Miner, Mountain Lions head coach, after the game. For the evening, the Mountain Lions placed 11 players in the scoring column, with 13 players stepping on the court. Desmond Simms led the Mountain Lions with 14 points and 6 rebounds, while John Sanderson handed out 10 assists. Shawn Washington added 10 points and two blocked shots, playing strong defense under the basket.
~Written by Mike Truskoloski