Men's Basketball | 1/19/2016 4:15:00 PM

BLOOMSBURG (9-7, 7-5 PSAC East) at CHEYNEY (2-13, 1-11 PSAC East)
Wednesday, January 20, 2016 - 8:00 p.m.
Cheyney, Pa. | Alfred Cope Hall

GAME NOTES:
Bloomsburg at Cheyney Game Notes

GAME COVERAGE:
Live Audio (WHLM-AM): http://www.whlmam.com

RELATED LINKS:
Bloomsburg - Roster | Schedule | Statistics
Cheyney - Roster | Schedule | Statistics

LAST TIME OUT ...
Bloomsburg got off to a bit of a slow start on Saturday but used a huge run to cruise to a 78-49 victory over Lock Haven at Nelson Field House. Trailing 19-13 with 8:49 left in the first half, the Huskies went on a 31-2 run (including a 26-0 run after being down 21-18) to take a 44-21 lead with 16:15 left in regulation. Bloomsburg forced Lock Haven into 18 turnovers which it turned into 22 points. The Huskies also held a 41-35 advantage in rebounding. Malik Garner (Philadelphia/Chestnut Hill Academy) paced the Huskies with 15 points - his seventh double-digit scoring output in the last eight games. Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) finished with 13 while Donell Diggs (Washington, D.C./Takoma Academy) added 11. Charles Haigler (Charles Town, WV/Hargrave Military Academy) narrowly missed a double-double with eight points and a season-high nine rebounds. Bloomsburg shot 46.6% from the floor and limited the Bald Eagles to just 30.5% shooting. Bloomsburg also tied a season-high with eight three-pointers (8-of-19).

THE CHEYNEY SERIES ...
Bloomsburg has a one-game edge over Cheyney in the all-time series, 68-67. The Huskies have taken over the series lead thanks to a five-game winning streak against the Wolves dating back to February 9, 2013 when Bloomsburg started the run with an 80-64 win at Nelson Field House. Five of the last ten meetings (including each of the last three) between the two schools have been decided by ten points or fewer.

LAST MEETING AGAINST CHEYNEY ...
Bloomsburg led by nine, 42-33, at halftime and then hung on for an 80-74 victory over the Wolves at Nelson Field House on January 28, 2015. Cheyney trimmed the lead to as few as two points with 3:33 left before the Huskies went on a 7-0 run over the next two minutes to help seal the victory. Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) paced the Huskies with 19 points while Alssene Saintilus (Williamstown, NJ/Williamstown) added 16 points and 12 rebounds - going a perfect 10-for-10 at the foul line in the process. Moustapha Noumbissi (Upper Darby/Delaware County Christian School) (12) and Jameal Tucker (Philadelphia/Academy at Palumbo) (10) also reached double digits in the victory. Kevin Larkin led all scorers with 24 points in a losing effort for Cheyney. He went 5-of-11 from three-point range. Cheyney, in fact, went 11-of-31 from downtown while Bloomsburg finished 1-of-6. The Huskies, however, were 27-of-33 at the line while the Wolves were 9-of-15.
 
SCOUTING CHEYNEY ...
Cheyney enters Wednesday's contest with a 2-13 overall record and a 1-11 mark in the PSAC Eastern Division standings. The Wolves have lost six straight contests after earning their first conference victory of the season - a 68-65 home win over Millersville on December 16. Cheyney's other victory was a 74-70 win over Bowie State - also at Alfred Cope Hall. Cheyney is 17th out of 18 teams in the PSAC in scoring offense as it averages just 65.1 points per game. The Wolves are also 17th in scoring defense, allowing 80.7 points per contest. Offensively, the Wolves shoot just 37.8% from the floor (17th) while opponents shoot 48.5% from the field (last). Cheyney is also last in the PSAC in rebounding margin (-8.0). Juwan Mullen leads the Wolves in scoring, averaging 13.6 points per game. He is also third on the team in rebounding (3.4) and in assists (1.9). Lakeem Duncan (12.5), Dominique Davis (10.9), and Rafiq Marshall (10.6) also average in double figures in scoring. Davis and Marshall have only played in seven games apiece for the Wolves. Duncan is the leading rebounder (5.2) and Eugene Lett is the leader in assists (2.0).

DOWNTOWN WITH THE HUSKIES ...
The Huskies have made at least one three-pointer in 143 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 struggled to keep the streak alive on Saturday, January 9 at Kutztown, however, as the Huskies went just 2-of-13 from long range. Alex Prislupsky (Olyphant/Mid-Valley) hit the team's first triple with 18:08 left in the contest. Prior to breaking out of its slump on Saturday, Bloomsburg had made a total of 14 three-pointers over its previous four games and was shooting just 20.6% from long distance during the month of January. However, the Huskies went 8-of-19 (42.1%) from downtown in the win over Lock Haven - tying a season-high in three-pointers made.

THREE-GAME STREAK ...
Bloomsburg has an opportunity for its first three-game winning streak since beginning the 2014-15 season with six consecutive victories from November 14, 2014 to December 1, 2014. The Huskies are currently on their third two-game winning streak of the season.

EPIC RUN ...
Bloomsburg got off to a sluggish start on Saturday against Lock Haven but then went on a remarkable run to earn a 78-49 victory over the Bald Eagles. Trailing 19-13 with 8:49 left in the first half, Bloomsburg outscored Lock Haven 31-2 over the next 12:34 to take a 44-21 lead with 16:15 left in regulation. The Huskies trailed 19-18 with 5:11 left in the opening half and scored the next 26 points in the game, limiting Lock Haven to zero points in 8:56 of game action.

GARNERING SOME ATTENTION ...
Senior Malik Garner (Philadelphia/Chestnut Hill Academy) has rapidly climbed the team's scoring list over the course of the last eight games as he now ranks third on the team in scoring (8.8 ppg) after posting seven double-digit scoring outputs in the last eight contests. During the stretch, Garner dropped in a career-best 17 in the win over Mansfield on December 19. Over the last eight games, Garner has scored 104 points (13.0 ppg) on 42-of-79 (53.2%) from the field and 10-of-24 (41.7%) from beyond the arc. Through his first eight games of the year, Garner scored 36 points (4.5 ppg) on 15-of-42 from the field (.357) and 0-of-9 from three-point range.

BIG NIGHT FOR BIG GUYS ...
In the win at Millersville on Wednesday, Janaury 13, Malik Garner (Philadelphia/Chestnut Hill Academy) and Malik Sneed (Washington, D.C./Spingarn), in particular, came up huge in the 11-point victory. Garner recorded his second double-double of the season with 10 points and 15 rebounds. It was the most rebounds by a Husky player since Alssene Saintilus (Williamstown, NJ/Williamstown) registered 20 boards against Lock Haven on February 25, 2015. Sneed, meanwhile, recorded a career-high 13 points and blocked a career-high five shots in the victory.

STRUGGLING FROM LONG RANGE ...
Since the calendar moved to 2016, Bloomsburg has really struggled with its shooting from beyond the arc. Through the 2015 portion of the regular season, the Huskies were sixth in the PSAC making 35.6% of their three-point attempts (68-of-191). Since then, however, it has gone south as the Huskies have connected on just 22-of-87 attempts (25.3%) in five January games. That figure includes Bloomsburg's best performance in January against Lock Haven on January 16 when it made 8-of-19 (42.1%) from beyond the arc. Redshirt sophomore Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) entered January having made 32-of-71 from long distance (45.1%). In five January games, Mortellite is just 6-of-26 (23.1%) from beyond the arc - including his 3-of-5 performance in the win over Lock Haven.

CLUTCH AT THE LINE ...
Redshirt sophomore Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) had a superb afternoon at the free throw line on Sunday, January 3, helping the Huskies hang on for a 70-67 win over Slippery Rock. While the rest of the team went 8-of-22 (36.4%) at the foul line, Mortellite went 10-for-11, including 6-for-6 during the last three minutes, and 4-for-4 over the last sixty seconds as Bloomsburg held on for the win. Mortellite is third in the PSAC, and 27th in the country, in free throw percentage this season as he has converted 74-of-84 from the stripe (88.1%). He has made 40 of his last 44 attempts from the foul line.

SPECIALTY SCORING ...
Since the turn of the calendar, Bloomsburg has played in some games that have provided lopsided margins in some specialty categories. Bloomsburg took advantage of 17 Slippery Rock turnovers and turned them into 26 points on Sunday, January 3. Meanwhile, The Rock could score just four points from nine Husky miscues. On the flip side, Slippery Rock had 22 offensive rebounds and turned those into 25 second-chance points. The Huskies, meanwhile, had only seven offensive boards and did not convert a second-chance opportunity in the game. Then, at Kutztown on January 9, the Golden Bears scored 29 fast break points compared to Bloomsburg's two. The Huskies also struggled from the bench, getting a season-low 12 points from their reserves. Meanwhile, Kutztown had 42 points from its bench. Finally, on Wednesday, January 13, at Millersville, Bloomsburg outscored the Marauders in points off turnovers, 24-4.

ALL-AROUND CAREER ...
Senior Charles Haigler (Charles Town, WV/Hargrave Military Academy) ranks fourth on the team in scoring by averaging 7.4 points per game. He is also third on the team in assists with 21 (1.3 per game) and leads the team, and is tied for 12th in the conference, with 24 steals (1.5 per game). He is climbing a number of program career leaderboards including being ranked fifth in career steals with 161. He needs four to tie Trevon Johnson (2008-12) for fourth on the all-time list. His 219 career assists are closing in on the top ten in that department and he needs 133 points to become the 29th player in school history to reach 1,000 career points.

DEPTH PERCEPTION ...
Bloomsburg is getting production from a number of different players this season as 13 of the 15 players who have played at least one game this year have registered at least 10 points - and all 15 have scored at least three points. The Bloomsburg bench has scored 426 points this season, an average of 26.6 points per game and 35.7% of the team's scoring. The bench has outscored the opponents' bench in 9-of-16 games and by a total margin of 426-411.

NOT LYONS ABOUT THAT EFFORT ...
Redshirt senior Wes Lyons (Millville/Millville) had his best game of the season at Kutztown on Saturday, January 9. He scored a season-high 16 points and grabbed a season-best eight rebounds in the loss. It was only his second double-digit scoring effort of the season and his first since the season-opening win over Penn State Hazleton on November 13. In the middle 12 games, Lyons had scored just 50 points (4.2 ppg) and grabbed 31 rebounds (2.6 rpg). Lyons is now three points away from 500 for his career. He leads the team in field goal percentage at 51.9% (40-of-77).
 
DIGGING HIS PERFORMANCE ...
Transferring in from Prince George's Community College during the summer, junior Donell Diggs (Washington, D.C./Takoma Academy) leads the team in assists with 64 (4.0 per game) and is second on the team in scoring (9.5 points per game). He recorded nine assists in a win over Gannon on December 5 and became the first Husky with at least ten assists in a game since Charles Haigler (Charles Town, WV/Hargrave Military Academy) had 10 against Mansfield on January 23, 2013 when he dished out ten helpers in the win over Mansfield on December 19. He is tied for eighth in the conference in assists (4.0) and is fourth in the league in assist/turnover ratio (2.0). He has also recorded eight double-digit scoring efforts with a season-high of 16 coming against East Stroudsburg on December 1.

MALIK-MALIK WITH DOUBLE-DOUBLES ...  
The Huskies have had only two players record a double-double through 16 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. Garner added his second double-double of the season on Wednesday, January 13, at Millersville, scoring ten points and grabbing a career-high 15 rebounds. The 15 rebounds by Garner were the most by a Husky since Alssene Saintilus (Williamstown, NJ/Williamstown) had 20 against Lock Haven on February 25, 2015 and represented just the fifth double-digit rebounding effort of the season by a Bloomsburg player.

MORE ON MORTELLITE ...
After leading the team in scoring as a rookie last season, Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) leads the team in scoring again this year, averaging 18.3 points per game. That figure has him fifth in the PSAC and first among players in the Eastern Division.  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 62 triples (26 regular season games). The school record is 82 held by Jay DeShields during the 2001-02 campaign. His 89 career three-pointers have him closing in on the top ten in the program's career leaderboard.

SANOW CLOSING IN ON SECOND-PLACE IN CAREER WINS ...
Head coach John Sanow is in his tenth season as the head coach of the Bloomsburg men's basketball program and has guided the Huskies to a 110-148 overall record to date - third in Bloomsburg history among career wins. Sanow needs three victories to pass Harold S. Shelly who won 112 games with the Huskies from 1949-1960. However, Sanow has a long time to catch the program's all-time leader, Charlie Chronister, who compiled 559 victores from 1971-2002.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE ...
The Huskies will be off until Wednesday, January 27 when they host Shippensburg. Tip-off from Nelson Field House is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Bloomsburg will then travel to East Stroudsburg on Saturday, January 30 for a 3:00 p.m. tipoff.