BLOOMFIELD, N.J. - The Bloomfield College men's basketball team clawed back from 22 points down in the second half but still fell short 89-85 against Stonehill College Sunday afternoon at home. The non-conference setback left the Bears at 3-7 for the year while the Skyhawks improved to 9-2 in 2015. Senior Carter Smith scored his 1,000th career point for the visitors during the second half and Nick Davidson (Lumberton, N.J.) paced the Bloomfield offense with a game-high 26 points.

Davidson went 11-for-18 from the field, including 3-for-5 from downtown, and 1-for-2 at the line, while grabbing four rebounds. Freshman Safee Abdus-Sabur (Newark, N.J.) tallied 19 points (7-21 FG, 2-4 3-FG, 3-5 FT), three steals and three assists in his first career start for Bloomfield. Classmate Robert Lewis added 12 points (5-5 FG, 2-2 FT) and 3 boards in his third start of the season.
 
Adam Bramanti scored 23 points for Stonehill, while Ryan Logan added 19 points and a game-high 13 boards. Smith finished the contest with 14 points to go along with his career milestone and Pierce Cumpstone also chipped in 14 points and 11 rebounds for his sixth double-double of 2015.
 
Stonehill, which shot 45.2 percent from beyond the arc, netted 4 three-pointers in the first ten minutes of the game and enjoyed a 19-16 lead 10:17 remaining in the opening period.  A Bramanti shot from downtown put the Skyhawks up by eight (38-30) with just over two minutes on the clock until the half. The visitors headed into the locker room up 42-33 as a late second turnover led to a layup and momentum shift towards Stonehill.
 
A little over four minutes into the 2^nd frame the Skyhawks pushed ahead 51-39 before a Bear attack drew the home team within two after a long range shot from Abdus-Sabur. Stonehill fired back with three consecutive three-pointers – powered by the first from Smith to eclipse the 1,000 point plateau  – and the visitors were on their way to their largest lead of the night at 81-59 with 6:30 to play. Bloomfield again answered, this time with a 23-6 blitz – with six points from Abdus-Sabur, but ultimately fell short with the Skyhawks prevailing down the stretch.
 
Stonehill outshot the Bears, 55.0 percent (33-60) to 48.4 percent (31-64), and dominated the battle on the glass with a 41-28 advantage. The Bears recorded more visits to the free throw line, going 15-for-22 (68.2%) compared to 9 of 14 (64.3%) for the Skyhawks. Stonehill held advantages in the paint (34-18) and second chances (25-8), while Bloomfield had a better bench production (31-12) for the day.
 
The Bears will hibernate for the week after dropping their second non-conference game in as many days. They will take to the court one more time in 2015 when they host the Spartans from St. Thomas Aquinas College on New Years Eve.  The 1:00 pm tipoff will offer redemption for Bloomfield against a non-league opponent to end the year.
 
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