Box Score

EAST STROUDSBURG – Ruben Britt scored 27 points and Bloomsburg overcame a nine-point deficit in the second half to upset No. 12-ranked East Stroudsburg University, 59-57, on Thursday night at Koehler Fieldhouse.

Senior guard Andy Heimbach scored 13 points to lead the Warriors (19-2, 6-2), who were opening the second half of their PSAC East schedule after an eight-day layoff. ESU had won six straight games, including a 101-96 (2OT) win at Bloomsburg after overcoming a 15-point deficit in the final 7:30, before last Saturday's game vs. Kutztown was postponed to February 15 and the tip-off with the Huskies was postponed one day to Thursday night.

Heimbach's third three-pointer of the game gave ESU a 40-32 lead less than three minutes into the second half after holding a 33-28 advantage at halftime, and the Warriors went ahead by nine (46-37) on a dunk by freshman forward Terrance King off a pass from junior forward Mike Tobin to cap a 6-0 run with 13:21 to go.

Bloomsburg maintained contact before going on a 10-1 run to take a 55-53 lead with 5:25 remaining. Britt scored the final seven points, including two fast-break layups to finish the spurt, to score the last of his 27 points. The Huskies led by two for the next 3:35 until ESU junior guard Micah Covert hit a driving layup with 1:50 left to tie the game at 55-all.

The Warriors took a 57-55 lead on two free throws by Heimbach with 1:01 remaining before Larry Webster (five points, 14 rebounds, four blocks) tied it with 44 seconds left on an interior pass from Adon El.

Britt blocked Heimbach's three-point attempt and Trevon Johnson blocked a layup by senior guard Robby Pines to force a jump ball that gave Bloomsburg possession with 26 seconds left. After a timeout, Johnson drove to the basket and was fouled with 6.0 seconds left. Johnson hit both free throws and Pines was just strong on a three-pointer from the top of the key as time expired.

The victory gives Bloomsburg (9-12, 3-6) wins over ESU and Kutztown, who were both nationally-ranked at the time. The Huskies have dropped three overtime games, all at home, and have another one-point loss in regulation in PSAC East play.

Britt scored 18 of his 27 points in the first half and Webster had four of his team's nine blocked shots to lead the Huskies, who shot 47.8 percent and held a 41-31 rebounding advantage. The Warriors shot just 28.6 percent in the second half, including 1-for-10 from the three-point line, after leading by five points at intermission.

Freshmen forwards Terrance King (eight points, seven rebounds) and Marcus Brown (six points, six rebounds) both had season-highs in minutes to help ESU offset the loss of leading rebounder Mike Tobin, who fouled out with six points and five boards in 17 minutes. Covert scored six of his seven points in the second half.

ESU falls into a tie for the PSAC East lead with Cheyney (13-8, 6-2) and will continue its run of five games in 10 days on Saturday at Shippensburg. The Warriors will make up their game with Kutztown on Monday at 7 p.m. at Koehler Fieldhouse, travel to Mansfield on Wednesday and host Cheyney the following Saturday (Feb. 20).