Men's Basketball | 11/23/2015 4:21:00 PM
BLOOMSBURG (3-1, 2-0 PSAC East) vs WILMINGTON (3-1, 0-0 CCAC)
Tuesday, November 24, 2015 - 7:00 p.m.
Bloomsburg, Pa. | Nelson Field HouseGAME NOTES:Bloomsburg vs Wilmington Game NotesGAME COVERAGE:Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/bloomu/mbball/Live Audio (WHLM-AM): http://www.whlmam.comRELATED LINKS:Bloomsburg -
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StatisticsWilmington -
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StatisticsA LOOK BACK ...The Huskies opened Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play with a pair of road victories at Seton Hill on November 21 and at California (PA) on November 22. The Huskies defeated Seton Hill, 88-74, to improve to 2-1 lifetime against the Griffins. On Sunday, Bloomsburg held off California, 81-75 - just the fifth victory in 24 career meetings against the Vulcans.
VS. SETON HILL (11-21) ...Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) poured in a game-high 31 points to lift the Huskies to an 88-74 win at Seton Hill. It was the second career 30-point game for the redshirt sophomore with his first coming against West Chester on February 11, 2015 - a 37-point effort. Mortellite was 7-of-13 from the field, 4-of-8 from three-point range, and 13-of-15 from the free throw line (tying his career high in free throws made in a game). Redshirt freshman
Tyriek Steward (Wilkes-Barre/Elmer Meyers) (12) and junior
Anthony McKie (Blue Bell/Plymouth Whitemarsh) (11) also scored in double figures for the Huskies. Junior
Malik Sneed (Washington, D.C./Spingarn) pulled down a team-high seven rebounds in the victory. Bloomsburg led 44-40 at halftime and then outscored the Griffins, 44-34, in the second half.
VS. CALIFORNIA (PA) (11-22) ...Bloomsburg jumped out to a 40-24 lead at halftime and then had to hold off a California comeback bid to earn an 81-75 victory - just the fifth win in 24 career contests with the Vulcans. Free throw shooting was the key as the Huskies went 10-for-10 at the line over the final sixty seconds to hold off California.
Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton), who hit eight of those free throws down the stretch, scored a game-high 26 points on 6-of-13 from the field, 4-of-8 from three-point range, and 10-of-10 at the line. Four other Huskies finished in double figures - junior
Donell Diggs (Washington, D.C./Takoma Academy) (11), senior
Charles Haigler (Charles Town, WV/Hargrave Military Academy) (10), junior
Malik Sneed (Washington, D.C./Spingarn) (10), and redshirt freshman
Tyriek Steward (Wilkes-Barre/Elmer Meyers) (10). Sneed added a game-high 10 rebounds for his first double-double in a Bloomsburg uniform. The Huskies were 30-of-37 at the free throw line compared to the Vulcans' 11-of-16.
LAST MEETING AGAINST WILMINGTON ...Bloomsburg got a career-high 26 points from Trevon Johnson as the Huskies held off Wilmington, 62-58, on December 3, 2009 at Nelson Field House. Johnson was the only Husky to finish the night in double figures. Jamar Smack scored nine points off the bench while Greg Elliott added eight in the victory. Ed Hall pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds. Wilmington had four players in double figures led by Brandon Savage woth 15. The Wildcats led by three at halftime before Bloomsburg outscored them, 36-29, in the second half for the four-point win.
SCOUTING WILMINGTON ...The Wildcats enter Tuesday night's contest with a 3-1 overall record. Wilmington opened the season with a 109-87 loss at Daemen on November 13 before winning three straight. The Wildcats defeated Roberts Wesleyan, 91-87, on November 14 and then posted back-to-back road wins at Pace (62-61) on November 18 and at Mercy (85-79) on November 21. Wilmington is averaging 81.3 points per game on offense but is allowing 84.0 points per game on defense. Junior Tyaire Ponzo-Meek leads the Wildcats by averaging 22.0 points per game. He shoots 46.6% from the field, 30.0% from three-point range, and 70.0% from the foul line. Ponzo-Meek also pulls down 7.3 rebounds per game and dishes out 5.0 assists per contest. Junior Brian Adkins averages 18.5 points per contest, shooting 47.8% from three-point range. Freshman Joseph Richards is also in double figures, averaging 10.5 points per contest. Richards shoots 52.4% from long distance. Sophomore Paul Medlin averages 8.0 rebounds per game to lead the team in that department. The Wildcats shoot 44.6% from the field, 40.9% from long range, but just 61.4% from the free throw line.
MORTELLITE NAMED PSAC EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK ...Redshirt sophomore
Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) was named the PSAC East Player of the Week for his performance over the weekend in leading the Huskies to a pair of road conference victories at Seton Hill and California (PA). He scored 31 points and grabbed six rebounds in the win at Seton Hill, then added 26 points, four rebounds, and three assists as the Huskies held off the Vulcans on Sunday. For the week, Mortellite averaged 28.5 points, five rebounds, and two assists as the Huskies improved to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in league play. He was 13-of-26 from the field, 8-of-16 from three-point range, and 23-of-25 from the foul line in the two victories. He now leads the team by averaging 20.0 points per game despite averaging only 21.8 minutes per contest.
CLUTCH FOUL SHOOTING ...Bloomsburg made a living at the free throw line over the weekend, making 26-of-34 attempts (76.5%) in the win at Seton Hill on Saturday and then improving to 30-of-37 (81.1%) in Sunday's victory at California (PA). The Huskies made free throws when they needed to, particularly in Sunday's win, when they went 10-for-10 over the last 60 seconds to stymie a Vulcans' comeback. Redshirt sophomore
Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) went 23-of-25 (92.0%) over the weekend, including a career-high-tying 13 makes on Saturday, and was a perfect 10-for-10 on Sunday. He made eight of the ten free throws over the last 60 seconds to preserve Sunday's victory.
LIFE AT THE LINE ...Through the first four games of the season, Bloomsburg has attempted 105 foul shots - an average of 26.3 per game. The Huskies have made 79 free throws for a 75.2% shooting percentage - third-best in the PSAC. Meanwhile, Bloomsburg opponents have attempted just 62 free throws in four games and have made only 39 of those tries (59.7%).
SNEED SEES DOUBLE ...For the first time in his Bloomsburg career, junior forward
Malik Sneed (Washington, D.C./Spingarn) posted a double-double, picking up 10 points and 10 rebounds in Sunday's victory at California (PA). Sneed had not reached double-digits in either category in a game prior to Sunday. He leads the team in rebounding, averaging 6.8 boards per contest, and is tied for fifth on the team in scoring at 6.5 points per game. Sneed also leads the team in blocked shots with six.
DOWNTOWN WITH THE HUSKIES ...The Huskies have made at least one three-pointer in 131 consecutive games. The last time Bloomsburg did not make a three in a game was on December 4, 2010 in a 54-51 loss at Lock Haven when it went 0-7 from beyong the arc.
DEADLY FROM LONG RANGE ...Redshirt sophomore
Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) has picked up where he left off last season in the first four games of the 2015-16 campaign. Despite averaging only 21.8 minutes per game, Mortellite leads the team in scoring, averaging 20.0 points per game. He has made 14 of his 24 three-point attempts so far this season (58.3%), putting him first in the PSAC in that department. He is shooting 52.5% overall and has also made 24 of his 27 free throws (88.9%). Last season, Mortellite hit 51 of his 119 three-point attempts (42.9%). This season, Mortellite is on pace for 91 triples (26 regular season games), which would break the school record of 82 held by Jay DeShields during the 2001-02 campaign.
LINEUP CHANGE PAYS OFF ...Head coach
John Sanow inserted redshirt sophomore
Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) and redshirt senior
Wes Lyons (Millville/Millville) into the starting lineup over the weekend and the change paid dividends for the Huskies. The duo replaced senior
Malik Garner (Philadelphia/Chestnut Hill Academy) and sophomore
Kyle-Michael Rose (Middletown, DE/Sanford School). Mortellite averaged 28.5 points per game over the weekend and Bloomsburg, as a team, averaged 84.5 points in the two victories. With Garner and Rose in the starting rotation, the Huskies averaged 66.0 points per game over the first two contests - a split against Penn State Hazleton and Felician.
SANOW CLOSING IN ON SECOND-PLACE IN CAREER WINS ...Head coach
John Sanow is in his 10th season as the head coach of the Bloomsburg men's basketball program and has guided the Huskies to a 102-142 overall record to date - third in Bloomsburg history among career wins. Sanow needs 11 victories to pass Harold S. Shelly who won 112 games with the Huskies from 1949-1960. However, Sanow has a longway to go to catch the program's all-time leader, Charlie Chronister, who compiled 559 victores from 1971-2002. Below is a list of the top five wins leaders in program history:
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| Charlie Chronister (1971-2002) | 559-288 (.660) |
| Harold S. Shelly (1949-1960) | 112-74 (.602) |
| John Sanow (2006-pres.)Â | 104-142 (.423) |
| George C. Buckheit (1932-1943; 1944-1946) | 99-75 (.569) |
| Earl Voss (1966-1971) | 63-42 (.600) |
UPCOMING SCHEDULEThe Huskies will return to action on Saturday, November 28 when they travel to Lincoln University. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
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