BLOOMFIELD, NJ – The Bloomfield College men's basketball team lost a nail-biter in The Den Saturday afternoon against Southern New Hampshire University. The 69-67 non-conference setback evened the Bears record at 4-4 overall while the Penmen moved to 7-2 on the season. 

STANDOUT PERFORMERS
    ·      Deavion Ellis posted a game-high 18 points (8-13 FG, 2-5 3PT), 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and a steal
    ·      Al Fatir Connor registered 15 points (5-11 FG, 3-3 3PT, 2-5 FT), doled out 2 assists, grabbed 5 boards and snagged one steal
    ·      Edward Ngene just missed a double-double as he added 9 points (3-3 FG, 3-3 FT), 9 rebounds and swatted 3 shots to add to his NCAA D2 leading, 34 for the season 

KEY MOMENTS
    ·      The Bears and Penmen battled back and forth in the opening period, trading buckets to the tune of an, 11-11 tie after five minutes of play. Bloomfield grabbed a slight advantage, going up by six (33-27) after a Connor three-pointer with 3:11 on the clock. 
    ·      The visitors erased their deficit by halftime and headed into the locker room up 37-36 after a 10-3 spurt to end the period.
    ·      The Bears clawed in front after the break on a 17-2 run to put SNHU on their heels. The Penmen, fresh off their win against nationally ranked Bentley, weathered the storm and chipped their way back into the game, 55-51 with just over ten minutes to play. 
    ·      The home team held their lead until 4:21 on the clock when SNHU finally evened the game up at 64-64. A Penmen three-pointer then turned the tide in the visitors favor as the enjoyed their first lead in the 2^nd half.
    ·      Ellis would answer with a long-range bucket of his own with twenty-five seconds remaining. After a timeout, the visitors found a play that netted them the go ahead score which left Bloomfield with just three seconds to find an answer.
    ·      Ellis tried a game winning three but a SNHU player swatted the attempt and left the Bears with their second-straight setback in The Den. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
    ·      Marcus Bucknall added 8 points (3-7 FG, 2-2 FT), 3 boards and an assist off the bench
    ·      Both teams shot over 40 percent from the field but the Penmen used 13 made three pointers to Bloomfield's 5 to seize the opportunity on the road
    ·      The Bears had a 20-13 edge in second-chance points that was fueled by a 32-16 advantage on points in the paint 

WHAT'S NEXT
    ·      The Bears get ready to pack their bags for a trip to the US Virgin Islands to compete in the YES USVI Basketball Classic. Fun in the sun and basketball in a gym await next weekend Friday, Dec 15 (11:00 a.m.) with their first opponent,  Allen University out of South Carolina.
    ·      Bloomfield close out 2023 on the road with a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference thriller against Post University on Saturday, Dec 30 (3:00 p.m.) 

If you missed the excitement of today's match-up or you'd like to see it again, you can click this link to watch it ON DEMAND.

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