MANSFIELD, Pa. – Down one with 17 seconds remaining in regulation, Manir Waller blew by his defender and connected on the game-winning layup to secure a 60-59 Mansfield University men's basketball (6-18, 5-15 PSAC) victory over Bloomsburg University (1-22, 1-18 PSAC) on Wednesday night, Feb. 15 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) action inside Decker Gymnasium.
 
Waller erased a pair of Huskie leads in the final minute, with the game-winner coming just 17 seconds after the Huskies took a 59-58 lead.
 
Bloomsburg got a shot off at the buzzer, but to no avail as the Mounties held on for the victory in their final home game of the season.  
 
Waller finished with 10 points and four rebounds, while Michael Dickson ignited the Mountaineers' offense all night long with a team-high 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting off the bench. Idris Ali added nine points and Scott Woodring pulled in a team-high 10 rebounds, while Jordan Montgomery once again headlined the defense with three steals and a block.
 
Despite shooting just 26 percent from the field in the first half, the Mounties led 28-24 heading into the break.
 
Saraj Ali scored the opening bucket of the second half to put the Mounties up six, but as they would do the rest of the night, the Huskies cut the advantage to one with five unanswered points over the next two minutes.
 
The Mounties led by as much as four over the ensuing three minutes, but another 6-0 run by the Huskies gave them their first lead since the first half, 35-33, with 16:30 to go.
 
Consecutive jumpers by I. Ali and Dickson put the Mounties back on top, 37-35, at the 14:48 mark, but BU drilled a pair of 3-pointers to spark an 8-0 run to go ahead 43-37 with 13 minutes remaining.
 
Dickson continued to provide a spark for MU, scoring four of the next six Mountaineer points to knot the game at 43-43 with just over 11 minutes to go.
 
The final 10 minutes featured four lead changes before Waller sealed the deal.
 
For the Huskies, Jake Nelson led the way with an 18-point, 15-rebound double-double, while Louie Wild scored 13 points including two late jumpers to give Bloom a chance.
 
NEXT UP
 
The Mounties travel to Kutztown University for a 1 p.m. PSAC contest on Saturday, Feb. 18.