Men's Basketball | 12/14/2015 3:31:00 PM

BLOOMSBURG (5-4, 3-2 PSAC East) at WEST CHESTER (7-1, 5-1 PSAC East)
Wednesday, December 16, 2015 - 7:30 p.m.
West Chester, Pa. | Hollinger Field House

GAME NOTES:
Bloomsburg at West Chester Game Notes

GAME COVERAGE:
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/wcupa/mbball/
Live Audio (WHLM-AM): http://www.whlmam.com
Live Video: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/wcupa/

RELATED LINKS:
Bloomsburg - Roster | Schedule | Statistics
West Chester - Roster | Schedule | Statistics

A LOOK BACK ...
Bloomsburg lost its seventh straight contest against East Stroudsburg on Tuesday night, December 1, falling by the final of 91-74 at Nelson Field House. The Huskies still lead the overall series by a 92-68 margin but have not defeated the Warriors since an 80-78 win on February 22, 2012.

On Friday, December 4, the Huskies were dealt an 88-48 loss at the hands of Mercyhurst at Nelson Field House. Bloomsburg has now lost nine straight meetings against the Lakers. Finally, on Saturday, December 5, Bloomsburg rebounded for a wire-to-wire 79-70 victory over Gannon. The Huskies have now won two straight against the Golden Knights after losing the first nine meetings.

THE WEST CHESTER SERIES ...
Bloomsburg leads the all-time series by a 66-64 margin. The teams split the series last season with each team winning on its home court. The Huskies knocked off the Golden Rams, 74-71, on January 10 while West Chester returned the favor, 88-82, on February 11. The Golden Rams have narrowed the gap in the all-time series as they have won eight of the last ten meetings between the two schools.

LAST MEETING AGAINST WEST CHESTER ...
Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) scored a career-high 37 points but it wasn't enough as West Chester earned an 88-82 victory over Bloomsburg on February 11, 2015 at Hollinger Field House. Mortellite was 9-of-13 from the field, 6-of-9 from three-point range, and 13-of-15 from the free throw line for his career night. It marked the most points in a game by a Bloomsburg player since Bill Connelly netted 37 points on November 21, 1988 at New York Tech. West Chester led by nine at the break before Bloomsburg made things interesting with 51 points in the second half, but it wasn't enough. Jon Riles (Philadelphia/Academy of the New Church) scored 20 points while Charles Haigler (Charles Town, WV/Hargrave Military Academy) added 10 in the loss. Cory Blake led the Golden Rams with 22 points in the victory.

SCOUTING WEST CHESTER ...
The Golden Rams enter the contest with a 7-1 overall record and a 4-1 mark in the PSAC East. West Chester is averaging 81.0 points-per-game on offense and is allowing opponents to score at a 72.6 points-per-game clip. West Chester is also outrebounding its opponents by an average of 7.7 boards per game - second-best in the PSAC. The Golden Rams have three players averaging in double figures - Malik Jackson (15.0), Mike Wilson (15.0), and Matt Wiseley (13.9). Wiseley also leads the team in rebounding, averaging 10.7 boards per contest. Eight players on the West Chester team average at least 15 minutes per game with all eight posting at least 6.6 points per contest. Wilson is the team's sharpshooter as he is 20-of-49 (40.8%) from long distance and 19-of-21 (90.5%) from the foul line. As a team, however, West Chester is only shooting 65.9% from the charity stripe - 14th in the league.

SPARKING THE OFFENSE ...
Sophomore Alex Prislupsky (Olyphant/Mid-Valley) earned his first start of the season, and his first since  February 18, 2015, in the 79-70 victory over Gannon on December 5. After scoring 11 points in 13 minutes off the bench in the loss to Mercyhurst the night before, Prislupsky scored a season-high 13 points in the win over the Golden Knights. It marked the second time in his career that he has reached double digits in back-to-back games (December 16-17, 2014). Despite only averaging 11.7 minutes per game, Prislupsky is tied for fifth on the team in scoring (5.6 ppg). He has reached double figures in three of his seven games played this season.

ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END ...
Redshirt sophomore Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) saw a number of streaks come to an end during the Huskies' 88-48 loss to Mercyhurst on Friday, December 4. Mortellite was held to just two points on 1-of-8 from the field against the Lakers, snapping a string of five straight 20-point games, 18 consecutive double-digit scoring efforts, and 20 straight games with at least one three-pointer. The last game Mortellite did not score at least ten points was January 14, 2015, when he was held to seven points in twelve minutes. During his double-digit scoring streak, Mortellite averaged 20.4 points per game. He started three new streaks on Saturday, December 5, against Gannon after scoring 21 points with three triples.

LIFE AT THE LINE ...
Through the first nine games of the season, Bloomsburg has attempted 253 foul shots - an average of 28.1 attempts per game - tops in the conference. The Huskies have made 182 free throws for a 71.9% shooting percentage - sixth-best in the PSAC. Over the last seven games, the Huskies have averaged 31.3 trips to the charity stripe and are shooting at a 72.6% clip (159-219). Bloomsburg ranks 14th in the country in free throw attempts (253) and 16th in the nation in free throws made (182). Meanwhile, Bloomsburg opponents have attempted 183 free throws in nine games and have made only 116 of those tries (63.4%).

DEPTH PERCEPTION ...
Bloomsburg is getting production from a number of different players this season as 12 of the 15 players who have played at least one game have registered at least five points - and all 15 have scored at least one point. The Bloomsburg bench has scored 244 points this season, an average of 27.1 points per game and 37.3% of the team's scoring. The bench has outscored the opponent's bench in five of the first nine games by a total of 244-228. Redshirt freshman Tyriek Steward (Wilkes-Barre/Elmer Meyers), who has not started a game this season, leads the Huskies' bench players by averaging 6.0 points per game - fourth on the team in scoring.

MALIK-MALIK WITH DOUBLE-DOUBLES ...  
The Huskies have only had two players record a double-double through nine games this season - junior Malik Sneed (Washington, D.C./Spingarn) and senior Malik Garner (Philadelphia/Chestnut Hill Academy). Sneed was the first to pull off the feat, posting ten points and ten rebounds in Bloomsburg's victory at California (PA) on November 22. Garner turned the trick in the win against Gannon on December 5, scoring ten points and grabbing eleven rebounds. Sneed leads the team in rebounding, averaging 5.2 boards per game, while chipping in 4.3 points per contest. Sneed is also second on the team in blocked shots (12). Meanwhile, Garner has been heating up after a slow start. He is averaging 5.1 points per contest and is second on the team in rebounding (4.6). In his last four games, Garner is averaging 7.8 points and 5.8 rebounds for the Huskies. He was reinserted into the starting lineup in the victory over Gannon - his third start of the season. He had started the first two games of the season.

ALL-AROUND CAREER ...
Senior Charles Haigler (Charles Town, WV/Hargrave Military Academy) is quietly putting together a fine career in a Bloomsburg uniform. This season, he ranks third on the team in scoring by averaging 7.6 points per game. He is also second on the team in assists with 15 (1.7 per game) and leads the team, and is ninth in the conference, with 17 steals (1.9 per game). He is climbing a number of program career leaderboards including tied for fifth in career steals with 154. He needs 11 to tie Trevon Johnson (2008-12) for fourth on the all-time list. His 213 career assists is closing in on being in the top ten in that department and he needs 183 points to become the 29th player in school history to reach 1,000 career points.

DIGGING HIS PERFORMANCE ...
Transferring in from Prince George's Community College during the summer, junior Donell Diggs (Washington, D.C./Takoma Academy) has moved into second on the team in scoring by averaging 9.7 points per game after scoring a career-high 16 points on December 1 against East Stroudsburg and then 14 against Mercyhurst on Friday, December 4. He added a then-career-high six assists against the Warriors, but broke that with nine dimes against Gannon on December 5. He leads the team in assists (32), minutes played (28.4 per game), free throws made (42), and free throws attempted (56). He is tied for 13th in the conference in assists (3.6 per game), but is tied for fourth in the league in assist/turnover ratio (2.1).

DOWNTOWN WITH THE HUSKIES ...
The Huskies have made at least one three-pointer in 136 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 beyond the arc. Bloomsburg ranks 12th in the PSAC in three-pointers made per game (6.2), but is fourth in shooting percentage (36.1%). Redshirt sophomore Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) (28), sophomore Alex Prislupsky (Olyphant/Mid-Valley) (9), and junior Anthony McKie (Blue Bell/Plymouth Whitemarsh) (9) have combined to make 46 of the team's 56 triples through nine games. The trio has combined to shoot 46-of-99 from beyond the arc (46.5%). The rest of the team is 10-of-56 (17.9%).

DEADLY FROM LONG RANGE ...
Redshirt sophomore Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) picked up where he left off last season in the first nine games of the 2015-16 campaign. Despite averaging only 25.3 minutes per game, Mortellite leads the team in scoring, averaging 19.6 points per game. That figure has him fourth in the PSAC and first among players in the Eastern Division. He has made 28 of his 56 three-point attempts so far this season, ranking him first in the PSAC in threes made per game (3.1), tied for second in total three-pointers made (28), and second in three-point percentage (50.0%). His 28 total three-pointers also rank 21st in the country. Last season, Mortellite hit 51 of his 119 three-point attempts (42.9%). His 51 triples last season were the 14th-highest figure in program history. This season, Mortellite is on pace for 81 triples (26 regular season games). The school record is 82 held by Jay DeShields during the 2001-02 campaign. His 79 three-pointers in only 34 career games have him closing in on the top ten in the program's career leaderboard.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE ...
The Huskies will return home on Saturday, December 19, when they entertain Mansfield University at Nelson Field House. Start time is slated for 1:00 p.m. and will be the first game of the men's and women's doubleheader against the Mountaineers. It will mark the final game of the 2015 portion of the regular season as the Huskies will not return to action until Sunday, January 3, when they host Slippery Rock University at Nelson Field House. Start time is set for 1:00 p.m.