Men's Basketball | 1/2/2016 9:45:00 PM

BLOOMSBURG (6-5, 4-3 PSAC East) vs SLIPPERY ROCK (8-5, 3-4 PSAC West)
Sunday, January 3, 2016 - 1:00 p.m.
Bloomsburg, Pa. | Nelson Field House

GAME NOTES:
Bloomsburg vs Slippery Rock Game Notes

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

RELATED LINKS:
Bloomsburg - Roster | Schedule | Statistics
Slippery Rock - Roster | Schedule | Statistics

LAST TIME OUT ...
Bloomsburg picked up its sixth victory of the season and moved to a game over .500 with a 96-65 victory over Mansfield on December 19 at Nelson Field House. It marked the second time this season that the Huskies have won a game by at least 30 points.

The Huskies shot 50% from the field (35-of-70), 47.1% from three-point range (8-of-17), and 85.7% from the free throw line (18-of-21) in the victory. Bloomsburg jumped out to a 15-point lead at halftime and then led by as many as 35 in the second half before settling for the 31-point win. Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) led the way with 20 points in just 23 minutes. Charles Haigler (Charles Town, WV/Hargrave Military Academy) scored 19 points in 22 minutes off the bench while Malik Garner (Philadelphia/Chestnut Hill Academy) recorded a career-best 17 points in the win. Donell Diggs (Washington, D.C./Takoma Academy) had ten assists (a career-high) to become the first Husky with at least ten assists in a game since Haigler had ten against Mansfield on January 23, 2013. Alex Prislupsky (Olyphant/Mid-Valley) had seven points and a career-high seven steals in the victory. He had seven of Bloomsburg's 20 steals as the Huskies forced Mansfield into 29 turnovers.

THE SLIPPERY ROCK SERIES ...
Slippery Rock leads the all-time series against Bloomsburg by a slim 12-11 margin. The Rock has won the last two and five of the last six meetings between the two schools. Bloomsburg's only win over the last six games came on December 9, 2011 - a 62-58 win over Slippery Rock at Nelson Field House.

LAST MEETING AGAINST SLIPPERY ROCK ...
Slippery Rock jumped out to a 43-22 lead at halftime and posted an 82-55 victory over Bloomsburg at Morrow Field House in Slippery Rock. The Huskies shot just 8-of-24 from the field in the first half and dug themselves too big of a hole to attempt to make a run at a comeback bid. Alssene Saintilus (Williamstown, NJ/Williamstown) was the only Husky in double figures as he finished with a team-high 14 points. Ashkan Naderi (Herndon, VA/Herndon) had nine points in 17 minutes off the bench. Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) was held to just two points on 0-of-7 from the field and 2-of-2 from the foul line in 13 minutes. Antonio Butler led The Rock with a game-high 25 points on 9-of-14 from the field. Frank Holloway (13) and Kelvin Goodwin (12) also finished in double figures. Slippery Rock outrebounded Bloomsburg, 55-28, and second 23 second-chance points. Chaquille Pratt had a game-high 13 rebounds, eight on the offensive glass.
 
SCOUTING SLIPPERY ROCK ...
Slippery Rock enters Sunday's contest with an 8-5 overall record and a 3-4 mark in the PSAC Western Division. The Rock last played on December 30 when it had no problem handling Ohio University Eastern, 115-48, at Morrow Field House. After starting the season with a 2-3 record, Slippery Rock has won six of its last eight contests. The Rock enters ranked fourth in the PSAC in scoring margin (+9.0), scoring an average of 74.8 points per game on offense while allowing only 65.8 points per contest. Malcolm Richardson leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.3 points per game. Cornelius Brown has posted eight double-doubles (second in the country) and is posting 14.7 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. Players to watch off the bench include Jamal Gatali (10.5 ppg, 5.2 rpg) and Naquil Jones (21 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists) in his first game of the season against Ohio University Eastern. Slippery Rock also outrebounds its opponents by an average of 9.4 boards per game - second in the PSAC. The Rock leads the conference in offensive rebounds per game (14.7).

GARNERING SOME MORE SCORING ...
Senior Malik Garner (Philadelphia/Chestnut Hill Academy) has rapidly climbed up the team's scoring list over the course of the last three games as he now ranks fourth on the team in scoring (7.2 ppg) after posting three consecutive double-digit scoring efforts. He scored 10 against Gannon on December 5, then poured in 16 at West Chester on December 16, before dropping in a career-best 17 in the win over Mansfield on December 19. Over the last three games, Garner has scored 43 points (14.3 ppg) on 17-of-28 (60.7%) from the field and 5-of-8 (62.5%) 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. All four of his double-digit scoring efforts this season have come over the course of the last six games.

WHAT A THIEF ...
Sophomore Alex Prislupsky (Olyphant/Mid-Valley) enjoyed a fine night on the defensive side of the ball in the win over Mansfield on December 19. He recorded a career-high seven steals in the victory to move him into second on the team with 16 steals, but tied for the team lead by averaging 1.8 steals per contest.

LIFE AT THE LINE ...
Through the first 11 games of the season, Bloomsburg has attempted 296 foul shots - an average of 26.9 attempts per game. The Huskies have made 216 free throws for a 73.0% shooting percentage - sixth-best in the PSAC. Over the last nine games, the Huskies have averaged 29.1 trips to the charity stripe and are shooting at a 73.7% clip (193-262).  

DEPTH PERCEPTION ...
Bloomsburg is getting production from a number of different players this season as 12 of the 15 players that have played at least one game this year has registered at least five points - and all 15 have scored at least one point. The Bloomsburg bench has scored 314 points this season, an average of 28.5 points per game and 38.0% of the team's scoring. The bench has outscored the opponents' bench in seven of the first eleven games and by a total margin of 314-282. Redshirt freshman Tyriek Steward (Wilkes-Barre/Elmer Meyers), who has not started a game this season, leads the Huskies' bench players by averaging 7.1 points per game - fifth on the team in scoring.

MALIK-MALIK WITH DOUBLE-DOUBLES ...  
The Huskies have only had two players record a double-double through eleven 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.

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 8.3 points per game. He is also second on the team in assists with 17 (1.5 per game) and leads the team, and is tied for seventh in the conference, with 20 steals (1.8 per game). He is climbing a number of program career leaderboards including being ranked fifth in career steals with 157. He needs eight to tie Trevon Johnson (2008-12) for fourth on the all-time list. His 215 career assists is closing in on being in the top ten in that department and he needs 160 points to become the 29th player in school history to reach 1,000 career points.

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 on 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.

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 44 (4.0 per game) and is second on the team in scoring (9.4 points per game). He recorded nine assists in a win over Gannon on December 5 but then 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 12th in the conference in assists (4.0 per game) but is fifth in the league in assist/turnover ratio (2.2). He has recorded five double-digit scoring efforts with a season-high of 16 coming against East Stroudsburg on December 1.

DOWNTOWN WITH THE HUSKIES ...
The Huskies have made at least one three-pointer in 138 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 13th in the PSAC in three-pointers made per game (6.2), but is sixth in shooting percentage (35.6%). Redshirt sophomore Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) (32), sophomore Alex Prislupsky (Olyphant/Mid-Valley) (10), and junior Anthony McKie (Blue Bell/Plymouth Whitemarsh) (9) have combined to make 51 of the team's 68 triples through eleven games. The trio has combined to shoot 51-of-119 from beyond the arc (42.9%). The rest of the team is 17-of-72 (23.6%).

DEADLY FROM LONG RANGE ...
Redshirt sophomore Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) picked up where he left off last season in the first seven games of the 2015-16 campaign. Despite averaging only 25.4minutes per game, Mortellite leads the team in scoring, averaging 19.2 points per game. That figure has him fifth in the PSAC and first among players in the Eastern Division. He has made 32 of his 71 three-point attempts so far this season, ranking him second in the PSAC in threes made per game (2.9), second in total three-pointers made (32), and sixth in three-point percentage (45.1%). Last season, Mortellite hit 51 of his 119 three-point attempts (42.9%). His 51 triples last season was the 14th-highest figure in program history. This season, Mortellite is on pace for 75 triples (26 regular season games). The school record is 82 held by Jay DeShields during the 2001-02 campaign. His 83 three-pointers in only 36 career games has him closing in on the top ten in the program's career leaderboard.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE ...
The Huskies will be on the road for three consecutive contests beginning with a trip to Edinboro on Wednesday, January 6 in the final PSAC crossover game of the season. Bloomsburg will then travel to Kutztown on Saturday, January 9 and Millersville on Wednesday, January 13 before returning home on Saturday, January 16 when it hosts Lock Haven at Nelson Field House.