BLOOMFIELD, N.J.- The Bloomfield College men's basketball team suffered a tough 81-71 loss against Felician College Tuesday night. Senior forward, Matt Hall (Brooklyn, N.Y.) led the Bears with 19 points and 9 rebounds. Freshmen forwards, Nick Davidson (Lumberton, N.J.) and Ignacio Diez (Madrid, Spain) along with senior guard Marvin Williams each contributed 13 points apiece. With the loss Bloomfield falls to 8-12 on the season, 7-6 in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) play. Felician College improves to 4-17 overall and 4-11 in CACC contests.
 
Overall records aside, these two CACC North Division foes are very familiar with each other as their campuses sit just minutes away in distance and make for hotly contested games when the squads face off on the court. Tuesday night's showdown proved to be no different.
 
The Golden Falcons jumped out to 19-10 lead with 11:53 left to play in the first. They led for most of the half thanks to a stellar opening period by Felician forward, J.R. Pringley (Elizabeth, N.J.) who dropped 17 first half points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor. The Bears trailed a majority of the frame until a pair of Williams' free throws gave them a slim 35-34 lead with 1:44 left in the stanza. With twenty-one seconds left in the half Pringley connected from just inside the arc to re-capture the lead and send the Golden Falcons into the break up 38-37.
 
Bloomfield's tenacity kept them in the game for the first half as they saw their drives to the basket pay dividends with seventeen trips to the charity stripe, converting on 82% of their opportunities from the line. The Bears seemed poised to attack in the second period having found a recipe for success in driving to the basket.
 
Felician's offense came out of the break strong shooting 55.0 percent from the floor in the half. The Bears continued to battle back watching Hall net 12 of his total points in the final period to keep Bloomfield within striking distance. The Bears tied the game at 68-68 after a Williams' free throw with 3:31 to play in the game. The crowd strapped in for the final minutes of the game but consecutive buckets in the paint by Pringley put Felician in prime position for the win and converting free throws down the stretch sealed the Golden Falcons victory on the road. Pringley ended the night with a game-high double-double, 33 points and 16 rebounds.
 
The Bears will look to get back in the win column on Thursday, February 12, against the Concordia College Clippers. Tip off is set for 8:00 pm at the Bloomfield College Gym. Stay up-to-date with the latest news, including game previews and recaps, from the Bloomfield College athletic department by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter or Instagram @GO_BCBears, be sure to utilize and look out for the hashtags BCBears and NewDayNewDen.

(story written by Mark Reyes - Sports Information Department Intern)