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BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The Bloomsburg University men's basketball team opened the 2016 portion of the regular season on Sunday afternoon by hanging on for a 70-67 victory over visiting Slippery Rock University at Nelson Field House. The Huskies improved to 7-5 overall and 5-3 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division while The Rock dropped to 8-6 overall and 3-5 in the PSAC West.
 
The Huskies snapped a two-game skid against Slippery Rock and evened the all-time series at 12-12 between the two schools. Bloomsburg had not beaten Slippery Rock since a 62-58 home victory on December 9, 2011.
 
Bloomsburg, which never trailed in the contest, had to overcome a subpar performance at the free-throw line to hold off a late Slippery Rock comeback bid. Redshirt sophomore Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton), however, hit four clutch free throws over the last minute to enable the Huskies to hang on for the win. Mortellite finished the afternoon with a team-high 19 points, converting 10-of-11 foul shots in the contest. The rest of the Huskies combined to make 8-of-22 free throws over the course of the game.
 
The Huskies turned 17 Slippery Rock turnovers into 26 points, outgaining The Rock, 26-4, in that category.  Slippery Rock, meanwhile, was able to stay in the contest thanks, in large part, to its rebounding. The Rock held a 55-34 advantage in the rebounding department, including 22 offensive boards that they turned into 25 second-chance points. Bloomsburg did not score a single second-chance point on Sunday.
 
The Huskies took a 35-28 lead into the locker room at halftime, getting nine points from Mortellite and eight from senior Malik Garner (Philadelphia/Chestnut Hill Academy). Bloomsburg jumped out to a 14-4 lead at the first media timeout, getting six points from Mortellite and four from Garner during the spurt.
 
The visitors cut the lead to three, 18-15, midway through the first half before the Huskies went on a mini 6-0 run over the next two minutes to extend the lead to nine, 24-15, with 9:29 left in the opening half. Slippery Rock would outscore the Huskies by a mere two points to close out the opening twenty minutes with Bloomsburg settling for a seven-point advantage.
 
Chaquille Pratt kept Slippery Rock, which spent most of the first half in foul trouble, in the contest, leading the way with 14 points and seven rebounds.
 
Bloomsburg extended its lead to 11 after layups from redshirt senior Wes Lyons (Millville/Millville) and Mortellite to start the second half. Slippery Rock would not go quietly, going on a 10-2 run, to cut the Husky lead to 41-38 with 15:51 left.
 
A quick 7-0 run by the Huskies put the hosts back in front by ten, 48-38, with 11:55 left Redshirt freshman Tyriek Steward (Wilkes-Barre/Elmer Meyers) had four points while senior Charles Haigler (Charles Town, WV/Hargrave Military Academy) nailed a triple during the run. After the visitors trimmed the lead to seven, five consecutive points from junior Yahmir Greenlee (Philadelphia/Boys Latin) put Bloomsburg back in front by ten, 53-43, with 10:15 remaining.
 
Slippery Rock cut the lead to as few as two points on three different occasions down the stretch, but could not get over the hump as the Huskies held on for the three-point win. Mortellite went 6-for-6 at the foul line over the last 3:13 to keep the lead intact.
 
Mortellite was the only Husky to finish in double figures, posting 19 points. He tied a season-high with six rebounds and established a new career-best with six assists in the victory. Garner, Haigler, and junior Donell Diggs (Washington, D.C./Takoma Academy) each finished with eight points in the win.
 
Pratt led The Rock with 20 points and 14 rebounds. Naquil Jones had 11 points off the bench for Slippery Rock.
 
Bloomsburg will take a two-game winning streak into its final conference crossover game of the season on Wednesday, January 6, when it travels west to take on Edinboro University. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.