BLOOMSBURG – With finals in the rearview mirror, the Bloomsburg University men's basketball team hopes to use a 10-day layoff to build some momentum heading into winter break with two Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) crossover games this week.  The Huskies will play 18th-ranked Indiana (PA) and California (PA) on Dec. 18-19 with tipoff for both games set for 7:30 p.m.
 
Both games will be broadcast live on WHLM (930-AM) based out of Bloomsburg with Jim Doyle and Larry White calling all the action. In addition, listeners throughout the world can listen to the game live on BU's website at www.buhuskies.com. The pre-game show will begin 20 minutes before tipoff.
 
The Huskies (2-5, 0-3 PSAC) are in the middle of a season-long, five-game road trip. They are coming off a loss to Millersville in which a poor-shooting second-half overshadowed an impressive first half that Bloomsburg held the lead for the majority of.
 
This is the second pair of PSAC crossover contests for the Huskies this season, and the second straight year Bloomsburg will travel to IUP (6-1, 2-1) and Cal (3-3, 2-1) for regular season matchups.  BU won the meeting against IUP last year to break a two-game skid against the Crimson Hawks dating back to the 2006-07 season. Each team has won 26 times in the overall series.
 
In last year's 66-64 victory, Lorenzo Christmas (Norristown/Norristown) drained a three-pointer with seven seconds remaining that propelled Bloomsburg past eighth-ranked Indiana (PA). A significant factor in the upset victory was the play of Nnamdi Njoku (Westampton, NJ/Rancocas Valley).  Njoku had a team-high 16 points off the bench for his second highest scoring effort of the season.
 
Njoku came off the bench for the first time this season against Millersville, opening the door for junior forward Armand Leaks (Philadelphia/The Shipley School).  Leaks posted career-highs in points (five), minutes (36), assists (two), and free throws (three) against Millersville to give Bloomsburg some extra strength inside.  With Leaks on the floor with BU's starters of Christmas, Dontahe Jordan (Williamsport/Williamsport), Wes Lyons (Millville/Millville), and Charles Haigler (Charles Town, WV/Hargrave Military Academy), BU holds a +23 advantage for the best +/- rating of any combo this season.
 
Jordan leads the Huskies in scoring this season at 15.1 ppg.  He is fourth in the PSAC in rebounding at 10.6 per game and his four offensive rebounds per game are fourth in the PSAC.
 
Christmas is second on the team at 13.3 per clip.  His 17 three-pointers are third in the PSAC, and his 37 percent from beyond the arc ranks eighth in the PSAC.  He has made a three-pointer in 17 straight games and has 120 in his career.  With two more, Christmas can move up to fourth on the all-time list.
 
As a team, the Huskies are second in the PSAC with 6.9 three-pointers per game.
 
Christmas is Bloomsburg's best shooter in the final five minutes, shooting 55% (11-for-20).  Nasir Jones (Philadelphia/Franklin Learning Center) is 3-for-4 in the final five minutes.
 
Mathis Keita leads IUP with 15.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game in seven games this season.  Also averaging double figures for the Crimson Hawks are Scooter Renkin (13.2) and Marcel Souberbielle (10.4).
 
Wednesday marks the 22nd meeting between the Huskies and the Vulcans. Bloomsburg has won the previous two games and hasn't dropped a game to California (PA) since the 2007-08 season.  The last time the Huskies fell at Cal was in the 2006-07 season (71-61).
 
In last year's meeting, Bloomsburg extended its winning streak to seven games with a 71-65 win over the Vulcans.  Five Huskies registered double-digits including Ed Hall (Washington, DC/Paint Branch)'s double-double effort of 10 points and 10 boards. Njoku added 12 points off the bench and Christmas contributed 11.  Jordan and Hall each scored 10 points in addition to Hall pulling down 10 rebounds.
 
This year, four Vulcans average double figures in scoring led by Keith Lowe's 17.2 per game.  He also leads the team in assists (4.0) and steals (2.8).  Tynell Fortune is second on the team in scoring (12.2), followed by Quentin Harding (10.8) and Mitchell Weedon (10.0).
 
The pair of crossover games marks the final competition for the Huskies heading into the New Year.  BU will return to action on Jan 4-5 when it travels to Gannon and Mercyhurst to close its season-long road trip.