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HUSKIES OPEN SEASON ON ROAD IN PHILLY
The Bloomsburg men's basketball team makes the trip to Philadelphia for a date at Chestnut Hill on Friday night. The game will be the season-opener for both squads.

SCOUTING CHESTNUT HILL
The Griffins were selected to finish fourth in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) South Division preseason coaches' poll behind Philadelphia University, Holy Family and University of the Sciences. Chestnut Hill finished 2012-13 with a 12-15 overall record including an 8-9 mark in the CACC. The Griffins will send several new faces into their mix this year, adding seven newcomers to head coach Jesse Balcer's squad. The biggest shoes to fill will be those of Mark DiRugeris Jr., who graduated after posting 1,600 points during his CHC career, while four-year point guard Francis Ashe also graduated after last season. The Griffins are led by senior guard and captain Jakeem Bogans (8.0 ppg, 6.2 rpg last season), sophomore forward Noel Hightower (4.2 rpg) and graduate transfer Taylor Trevisan, who joins the Griffins after three seasons as a member of Division I St. Joseph's. A walk-on at St. Joseph's, Trevisan saw time in 24 games for the Hawks while averaging 1.1 ppg.

THE BLOOMSBURG-CHESTNUT HILL SERIES
Bloomsburg leads, 3-2
The Huskies held off Chestnut Hill at Nelson Field House in overtime last season, 88-86. The last two meetings have been settled by a combined three points – Bloomsburg came away from Philadelphia with an 87-86 win during the 2011-12 season. On that day, Dontahe Jordan (Williamsport/Williamsport) led all scorers with 25 points to lead BU to victory at Sorgenti Arena. Ed Hall (Washington, DC/Paint Branch) added 12 points in the win. Before the Huskies' current two-game winning streak, the Griffins had won two in a row in the series. Two years ago, the Griffins captured a win at Bloomsburg, 88-73, and also won 68-53 on their home floor on Nov. 16, 2009.

WHEN LAST WE MET
The Huskies and Griffins needed an extra period to decide things on Nov. 20, 2012, when BU came away from Nelson Field House win an 88-86 overtime triumph. Chestnut Hill led, 40-33 at half, and led by 15 points with 6:43 to play in regulation. Bloomsburg roared back with a 13-0 run to draw within two at the 3:02 mark and Lorenzo Christmas (Norristown/Norristown) made the comeback complete by draining a 3-pointer to tie the game at 79-79 with 30 seconds left in regulation. Dontahe Jordan (Williamsport/Williamsport) hit the game-winning jumper with 1.9 seconds left in overtime to clinch victory. Jordan had a double-double of 23 points and 20 rebounds while Wes Lyons (Millville/Millville) added a double-double with 19 points and 10 boards. Mark DiRugeris led all scorers with 31 points while Seamus Radtke added 18 and current Husky Alssene Saintilus (Williamstown, NJ/Williamstown) provided 12 points for the Griffins.

A GOOD PLACE TO START
The Huskies return nearly 76 percent of their scoring from last season - eight returners on this year's roster accounted for over 1,400 points a season ago.

BU STRONG IN EXHIBITIONS
The 2013-14 season began for the Huskies with a pair of trips to Division I venues for exhibitions at Towson (MD) and Binghamton. Against Towson on Oct. 24, the Huskies led at halftime and six minutes into the second half vs. the favorite to win the Colonial Athletic Association this season before eventually falling, 86-65. Jon Riles (Philadelphia/Academy of the New Church) led the Huskies with 16 points off the bench. Last Saturday, the Huskies nearly knocked off Binghamton while leading the first 18 minutes of the second half. The Bearcats, members of the America East Conference, scored what would be the game-winning layup with 41 seconds left to move on to a 48-47 win. Three Huskies were in double-figure scoring – Dontahe Jordan (Williamsport/Williamsport) (15 points), Moustapha Noumbissi (Upper Darby/Delaware County Christian School) (13 points) and Lorenzo Christmas (Norristown/Norristown) (10 points).

JORDAN LANDS PRESEASON PSAC HONORS
Senior Dontahe Jordan (Williamsport/Williamsport) earned a spot on the Preseason All-PSAC East Team as selected by the division's coaches. Jordan, the PSAC East Player of the Year following his sophomore campaign, averages 15.5 points for his career and reached the 1,000-point plateau last year.

HUSKIES SELECTED FOURTH IN PSAC EAST POLL
Bloomsburg was selected fourth in the PSAC East Preseason Coaches' Poll. West Chester is the favorite, taking five first-place votes, while East Stroudsburg grabbed three first-place tallies and stands second. Millersville slots third, Bloomsburg fourth and Mansfield took the last first-place tally and stands fifth.

WELCOME BACK
The Huskies return their top five scorers from last season, giving reason for optimism at the outset of the 2013-14 campaign. Lorenzo Christmas (Norristown/Norristown) led the team in scoring last year at 16.0 points per game while Dontahe Jordan (Williamsport/Williamsport) (14.6 ppg), Charles Haigler (Charles Town, WV/Hargrave Military Academy) (11.5 ppg), Zach Sheetz (Landisville/Hempfield) (9.8 ppg) and Wes Lyons (Millville/Millville) (8.9 ppg) all return this fall. Also returning are two familiar faces from past teams as Jamar Smack (Philadelphia/State College) and Ed Hall (Washington, DC/Paint Branch) re-join the roster. Hall averaged 7.5 points and 5.0 rebounds as an important contributor in 2011-12 before battling injury last year while Smack played in 28 games with 2.8 points and 1.6 assists two seasons ago.

FRESH FACES
Four new players join the roster this season for Bloomsburg – a pair of junior transfers in swingman Alssene Saintilus (Williamstown, NJ/Williamstown) from Chestnut Hill and guard Jon Riles (Philadelphia/Academy of the New Church) from the University of Tampa – and freshmen guards Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) and Jameal Tucker (Philadelphia/Academy at Palumbo). Saintilus averaged 8.9 points and 4.3 rebounds as a sophomore a year ago at Chestnut Hill while Riles, a native of Philadelphia, played in 30 games with 21 starts while averaging 4.6 points and 4.0 assists per contest at the University of Tampa.

A SAINT-LY RETURN
Junior transfer Alssene Saintilus (Williamstown, NJ/Williamstown) makes his Huskies debut by facing his former mates at Chestnut Hill. The 6-foot-7 guard/forward played 21.1 minutes per game for the Griffins last year while shooting 45 percent from the floor (84-for-186) and started 24 out of 30 games as a freshman in 2011-12, leading the team in blocked shots while averaging 7.2 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.

HUSKIES SEEK RETURN TO POST-SEASON
Last year, the Huskies recorded their second straight trip to the PSAC Tournament. It marked the first time in 11 years that Bloomsburg had advanced to the post-season in consecutive years. The Huskies are seeking a third straight trip to the PSAC playoffs for the first time since reaching the post-season every year between 1995-2002.

UP NEXT
After opening on the road this Friday at Chestnut Hill, the Huskies start a three-game home stand when they debut at Nelson Field House on Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. Bloomsburg is also home next Saturday when it hosts Lincoln (PA) at 7:30 p.m. before opening up PSAC East competition vs. Millersville on its home floor on Nov. 20.