Men's Basketball | 1/26/2016 4:13:00 PM

BLOOMSBURG (10-7, 8-5 PSAC East) vs SHIPPENSBURG (12-5, 9-4 PSAC East)
Wednesday, January 27, 2016 - 7:30 p.m.
Bloomsburg, Pa. | Nelson Field House

GAME NOTES:
Bloomsburg vs Shippensburg Game Notes

GAME COVERAGE:
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/bloomu/mbball/
Live Audio (WHLM-AM): http://www.whlmam.com
Live Video: https://bupmediasite.passhe.edu/Mediasite/Play/03713ef86b50401180f109507573c57f1d

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

LAST TIME OUT ...
Bloomsburg led by four at halftime but then outscored Cheyney, 43-34, in the second half to post a 74-61 victory at Alfred Cope Hall on Wednesday, January 20. It marked the third consecutive win for the Huskies - the longest winning streak since Bloomsburg started 6-0 to start the 2014-15 season. Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) found his stroke, pouring in a game-high 28 points. He tied a career-high with 10 field goals made and connected on a season-high five three-pointers (six attempts). He added six rebounds and three assists in the victory. Wes Lyons (Millville/Millville) added 12 points, a season-high nine rebounds, and a career-best three blocked shots while Donell Diggs (Washington, D.C./Takoma Academy) chipped in with 11 points and eight assists. Bloomsburg shot 51.9% from the field and made 7-of-13 three-point attempts. The Huskies also turned the ball over a season-low seven times. Juwan Mullen led three Wolves in double figures with 16 points. Cheyney also turned the ball over just seven times in the loss.

THE SHIPPENSBURG SERIES ...
Bloomsburg leads the all-time series against Shippensburg, 101-68. The Huskies have won three of the last four meetings, and six of the last ten, between the two schools. Last season, the teams split a pair of three-point decisions with each team winning on its home court. Bloomsburg won 76-73 at Nelson Field House on November 22, 2014 and Shippensburg returned the favor, 68-65, on January 31, 2015 at Heiges Field House.

LAST MEETING AGAINST SHIPPENSBURG ...
Bloomsburg trailed 41-19 at halftime but made a valiant comeback bid in the second half, ultimately falling short by a final of 68-65 at Heiges Field House on January 31, 2015. The Huskies had an opportunity to come all the way back after Shippensburg's A.J. Maun missed a pair of free throws with 16 seconds remaining - but Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton)'s three-point attempt near the buzzer was off the mark. Mortellite finished with a game-high 17 points, going 5-of-11 from the field but just 2-of-7 from long distance. Jon Riles (Philadelphia/Academy of the New Church) had 13 points while Moustapha Noumbissi (Upper Darby/Delaware County Christian School) chipped in with 10 points in a losing effort. Jay Hardy led four Raiders in double figures with 16 points.
 
SCOUTING SHIPPENSBURG ...
Shippensburg started the season with a 5-5 record through its first ten games but has rattled off seven consecutive victories and brings a 12-5 overall record and a 9-4 mark in the PSAC East into Wednesday's contest. The Raiders have not lost since dropping a 93-67 decision at Shepherd on December 13 and have not suffered a conference loss since a 70-51 setback at Indiana (PA) on December 4. Shippensburg has not played since Saturday, January 16 when it posted a 79-57 home victory against Cheyney. Three Raiders average in double figures in scoring, led by Abe Massaley who scores 15.2 points per contest. Massaley also leads the team in assists (67) and steals (24). Dustin Sleva is next, averaging 13.7 points per game. Sleva is also the team's leading rebounder, averaging 11.6 boards per contest - tops in the PSAC. Antonio Kellem is also in double figures, chipping in 10.9 points per game. The Raiders average 77.2 points per game - sixth in the league - and allow 72.9 points per game (10th in the PSAC). Shippensburg is tied for fifth in the conference in rebounding margin at +5.1 per game.

DOWNTOWN WITH THE HUSKIES ...
The Huskies have made at least one three-pointer in 144 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. From January 3 against Slippery Rock to Janaury 13 at Millersville, Bloomsburg had made a total of 14 three-pointers (3.5 per game) and was shooting just 20.6% from long distance during the month of January. However, over the last two contests, the Huskies are 15-of-32 (46.9%) from long distance - their best two-game stretch of the season.

THREE-GAME STREAK ...
With its victory at Cheyney on January 20, Bloomsburg enters on a three-game winning streak for the first time since beginning the 2014-15 season with six consecutive victories from November 14, 2014 to December 1, 2014. During the stretch, the Huskies have averaged 74.3 points per game on offense but are only allowing 56.7 points per game.

FINDING HIS STROKE ...
Redshirt sophomore Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) had a huge game in the Huskies' 74-61 victory at Cheyney on January 20, pouring in a game-high 28 points to lift Bloomsburg to its third straight victory. He tied a career-high with 10 field goals and established a season-high with five three-pointers (six attempts) in the win.  In his first four games during the month of January, Mortellite struggled by making only 3-of-21 three-point attempts (14.3%). However, over the last two contests, Mortellite is back on track, making 8-of-11 from long distance (72.7%). Mortellite has 43 three-pointers this season which is tied for 20th on the school's single-season list. After making 51 treys last season, Mortellite is now tied for 10th for most career triples with 94 - in only 42 career games.

OUT LIKE A LYONS ...
Redshirt senior Wes Lyons (Millville/Millville) is closing out his collegiate career by putting together one of the best runs of his time with the Huskies. In the win over Cheyney on January 20, Lyons had 12 points, a season-high nine rebounds, and a career-high three blocks. From November 14 to January 6 (12 games), Lyons averaged  only 4.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 0.5 blocks. However, over his last four games, Lyons is averaging 10.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks as the Huskies have gone 3-1 during the stretch. He also leads the team in field goal percentage this season, making 46-of-88 shots (52.3%). With his 12 points against Cheyney, Lyons went over 500 points for his career (509).
 
EPIC RUN ...
Bloomsburg got off to a sluggish start on Saturday, January 16, 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 up the team's scoring list over the course of the last nine games as he now ranks third on the team in scoring (8.5 ppg) after posting seven double-digit scoring outputs in the last nine contests. During the stretch, Garner dropped in a career-best 17 in the win over Mansfield on December 19. Over the last nine games, Garner has scored 109 points (12.1 ppg) on 44-of-87 (50.6%) from the field and 10-of-26 (38.5%) 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.

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 72 (4.2 per game) and is second on the team in scoring (9.6 points per game). He recorded nine assists in a win over Gannon on December 5 and 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 sixth in the conference in assists (4.2) and is fourth in the league in assist/turnover ratio (2.1). He has recorded nine double-digit scoring efforts with a season-high of 16 coming against East Stroudsburg on December 1 and has had three games with at least eight assists and ten contests with at least four helpers. He enters Wednesday's contest with four consecutive double-digit scoring efforts and is averaging 11.0 points and 5.5 assists during the stretch. He has scored at least eight points in his last twelve games.

ALL-AROUND CAREER ...
Senior Charles Haigler (Charles Town, WV/Hargrave Military Academy) is putting the finishing touches on a nice all-around career in a Bloomsburg uniform. Haigler currently ranks fourth on the team in scoring by averaging 7.4 points per game. He is also third on the team in assists with 25 (1.5 per game) and leads the team, and is tied for 10th in the conference, with 27 steals (1.6 per game). He is climbing a number of program career leaderboards which include being ranked fifth in career steals with 164. He needs one to tie Trevon Johnson (2008-12) for fourth on the all-time list. His 223 career assists are closing in on being in the top ten in that department and he needs 125 points to become the 29th player in school history to reach 1,000 career points. For his career, Haigler averages 9.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.9 steals.

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 off 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.

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 77-of-87 from the stripe (88.5%). He has made 43 of his last 47 attempts from the foul line and is a career 89.4% foul shooter (169-of-189).

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 13 points - and all 15 have scored at least three points. The Bloomsburg bench has scored 436 points this season, an average of 25.6 points per game and 34.4% of the team's scoring. The bench has outscored the opponents' bench in 9-of-17 games and by a total margin of 436-425.

MALIK-MALIK WITH DOUBLE-DOUBLES ...  
The Huskies have had only two players record a double-double through 17 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) again leads the team in scoring this year, averaging 18.8 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 66 triples (26 regular season games). The school record is 82 held by Jay DeShields during the 2001-02 campaign.

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 111-148 overall record to date - third in Bloomsburg history among career wins. Sanow needs two 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 travel to East Stroudsburg on Saturday, January 30 for a matchup with the Warriors. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. The two teams met back on December 1 at Nelson Field House with East Stroudsburg posting a 91-74 victory.