Men's Basketball | 11/13/2014 3:18:00 PM

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The Bloomsburg University men's basketball team opens its 2014-15 schedule by traveling to Penn State Hazleton on Friday night for an 8:00 p.m. tipoff and then beginning the home slate on Saturday evening by hosting Adelphi inside Nelson Field House at 7:00 p.m.
 
SCOUTING PENN STATE HAZLETON
The Lions have played twice so far – defeating Luzerne County Community College, 72-46, on Nov. 4 and Johnson College, 81-69, on Nov. 6.
 
Freshman Jacob Solano came off the bench in the season-opening win and scored a game-high 21 points while fellow freshman Royce Brathwaite also delivered 15 points off the bench. Junior Dwayne Vines gave the Lions a third player in double figures with 13 points.
 
The Lions are a young squad as Vines is the only player who is not either a freshman or a sophomore. Ten freshmen make up the majority of the roster.
 
PSU Hazleton finished 7-16 in 2013-14.
 
SCOUTING ADELPHI
The Panthers are seeking a bounce-back season after finishing last year at 5-21 and 3-17 in the Northeast-10. Adelphi returns nine players from that team along with five newcomers.
 
Senior Dwayne Morgan led the Panthers with 15.7 points and 6.5 rebounds per game and ranked ninth in the NE-10 in blocks with 31.
 
Head coach David Duke is in his first season at the helm after being named to the position in April. Duke is a former assistant at Hofstra and Fordham, starting his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Hofstra under current Villanova head coach Jay Wright.
 
Duke will look to lead Adelphi to its first winning season since 2011-12 when the Panthers finished 21-9 and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
 
Adelphi slotted sixth in the NE-10 Preseason Coaches Poll and will open its 2014-15 season at Bloomsburg on Saturday before opening at home next Wednesday vs. Southern Connecticut State, the defending NE-10 champions.
 
 
WELCOME BACK
While there is a lot that is new, the Huskies aren't starting from scratch. Five players have starting experience - Alssene Saintilus(Williamstown, NJ/Williamstown) (11.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg), Jon Riles (Philadelphia/Academy of the New Church) (9.2 ppg, 2.9 rpg), Charles Haigler (Charles Town, WV/Hargrave Military Academy) (8.7 ppg, 3.5 rpg), Moustapha Noumbissi (Upper Darby/Delaware County Christian School) (4.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg) and Wes Lyons (Millville/Millville) (4.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg) are all back this fall.
 
POSTSEASON ASPIRATIONS
Much may be new this season with the Huskies, but the expectation remains to return to postseason contention again this year. Bloomsburg owns a three-year streak of reaching the postseason entering this year, the longest run for the school since a streak from 1995-2002. 
 
FAMILIAR FACE
Huskies junior point guard Ashkan Naderi (Herndon, VA/Herndon) is new to maroon and gold, but in his first game in a Bloomsburg uniform will travel to a familiar place. Naderi spent the past two seasons at PSU Hazleton where he was named second team all-conference after averaging 14.3 points, 4.1 assists and 2.8 rebounds last season. He also shot over 36 percent from the 3-point line (57-for-158) and also posted 20 or more points six times in 2013-14, averaging over 34 minutes per game.
 
Naderi caught the attention of the Bloomsburg coaching staff with strong play against the Huskies – he finished with 15 points and seven assists in last year's 79-61 win for the Huskies at Nelson Field House, connecting on 4-of-9 shots from beyond the arc. Two seasons ago, Naderi posted nine points and four assists in a 79-78 Huskies win at PSU Hazleton.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Bloomsburg has played PSU Hazleton in each of the past eight years, winning every matchup. Last year, the Huskies won 79-61 using a 16-0 run over the final six minutes to pull away from the Lions, shooting 70 percent (14 of 20) from the floor during the second half.
 
The Huskies are 2-0 all-time vs. Adelphi, but have not played the Panthers since a 74-67 win at Adelphi in the second game of the 1989-90 season.
 
UP NEXT
The Huskies open PSAC East play at Cheyney on Nov. 19 before returning home to host Shippensburg on Nov. 22.