Men's Basketball | 1/5/2016 4:58:00 PM

BLOOMSBURG (7-5, 5-3 PSAC East) at EDINBORO (8-4, 7-2 PSAC West)
Wednesday, January 6, 2016 - 7:30 p.m.
Edinboro, Pa. | McComb Fieldhouse

GAME NOTES:
Bloomsburg at Edinboro Game Notes

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

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

LAST TIME OUT ...
Bloomsburg opened the 2016 portion of the regular season with a 70-67 victory over visiting Slippery Rock on Sunday afternoon at Nelson Field House. The Huskies, who never trailed in the game, relied on clutch foul shooting from redshirt sopohmore Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) to stave off The Rock. Mortellite finished the game with a team-high 19 points, including 10-of-11 at the free throw line. Redshirt senior Malik Garner (Philadelphia/Chestnut Hill Academy), junior Donell Diggs (Washington, D.C./Takoma Academy), and senior Charles Haigler (Charles Town, WV/Hargrave Military Academy) scored eight points apiece in the win. Mortellite converted all six of his free throw attempts over the final three minutes, including a perfect 4-of-4 over the final 60 seconds. He went 10-of-11 at the foul line - the rest of the Huskies were 8-of-22. Bloomsburg scored 26 points off 17 Slippery Rock turnovers while The Rock outrebounded the Huskies, 55-34, for the game.

THE EDINBORO SERIES ...
Bloomsburg trails Edinboro in the all-time series by a 14-10 margin dating back to the 1963-64 season. The Fighting Scots have won the last two meetings between the two schools, snapping a two-game winning streak by the Huskies. Bloomsburg won each game during the 2009-10 and 2010-11 campaigns.

LAST MEETING AGAINST EDINBORO ...
Bloomsburg and Edinboro last met on December 17, 2013 with the Fighting Scots coming away with a 70-61 win over the Huskies at Edinboro's McComb Fieldhouse. The game was knotted at 31-31 at halftime before Edinboro outscored Bloomsburg, 39-30, in the second half to earn the victory. Lorenzo Christmas and Alssene Saintilus (Williamstown, NJ/Williamstown) led the way with 12 points apiece for the Huskies while Jon Riles (Philadelphia/Academy of the New Church) and Andrew Morgan chipped in with nine each. Edinboro had four players in double figures, led by Bryan Theriot, who had 19 points.
 
SCOUTING EDINBORO ...
Edinboro enters Wednesday's contest having won six of its last seven PSAC contests to take over frst place in the Western Division standings. The Fighting Scots are 8-4 overall and 7-2 in the PSAC West. They ended 2015 with a 78-72 win over Thiel on December 30 and then began 2016 wth an 87-78 victory at Lock Haven. Senior guard Henri Wade-Chatham tied his career-high with 32 points in the win over the Bald Eagles this past Sunday. Wade-Chatham combines with redshirt sophomore Jaymon Mason to form the PSAC's highest-scoring duo. Mason is second in the PSAC, averaing 22.8 points per game. Wade-Chatham is right behind, in third place, averaging 20.9. They combine for more than half of Edinboro's scoring output. Tommy Scales is also contributing double digits in scoing, chipping in 11.8 points per contest. Edinboro averages 79.5 points per game but is giving up 78.5 points on defense. The Fighting Scots are also outrebounding their oppoents by an average of 2.8 boards per game.

CLUTCH AT THE LINE ...
Redshirt sophomore Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) had a superb afternoon at the free throw line on Sunday, 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 on Sunday, 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 tied for second in the PSAC in free throw percentage this season as he has converted 61-of-68 from the stripe (89.7%). For his career, Mortellite is 153-of-170 from the foul line (90.0%).

A GAME OF SPECIALTY POINTS ...
Bloomsburg's contest against Slippery Rock last Sunday proved to be a game that provided some lopsided margins in some specialty categories. Bloomsburg took advantage of 17 Slippery Rock turnovers and turned them into 26 points. Meanwhile, The Rock could score just four points off of 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. Bloomsburg also had a significant edge in fast break points on Sunday - 15-4.

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 four games as he now ranks fourth on the team in scoring (7.3 ppg) after posting three consecutive double-digit scoring efforts and then an eight-point outing against The Rock. 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 four games, Garner has scored 51 points (12.8 ppg) on 21-of-39 (53.8%) from the field and 5-of-9 (55.6%) 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 seven 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 18 steals. Although he missed two games earlier in the season, Prislupsky has now taken over the team lead in steals per game at 1.8.

LIFE AT THE LINE ...
Through the first 12 games of the season, Bloomsburg has attempted 329 foul shots - an average of 27.4 attempts per game. The Huskies have made 234 free throws for a 71.1% shooting percentage - eighth-best in the PSAC. Over the last ten games, the Huskies have averaged 29.5 trips to the charity stripe and are shooting at a 71.5% clip (211-295).  

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 this year have registered at least 18 points - and all 15 have scored at least one point. The Bloomsburg bench has scored 338 points this season, an average of 28.2 points per game and 37.7% of the team's scoring. The bench has outscored the opponents' bench in seven of the first twelve games and by a total margin of 338-315.

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 third on the team in assists with 17 (1.4 per game) and leads the team, and is tied for 11th in the conference, with 20 steals (1.7 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 are closing in on being in the top ten in that department and he needs 152 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 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 46 (3.8 per game) and is second on the team in scoring (9.3 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 - 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 13th in the conference in assists (3.8 per game) but is sixth in the league in assist/turnover ratio (2.1). He has also 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 139 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 only 14th in the PSAC in three-pointers made per game (6.0), but is seventh in shooting percentage (35.3%). Redshirt sophomore Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) (33), sophomore Alex Prislupsky (Olyphant/Mid-Valley) (11), and junior Anthony McKie (Blue Bell/Plymouth Whitemarsh) (9) have combined to make 53 of the team's 72 triples through twelve games. The trio has combined to shoot 53-of-127 from beyond the arc (41.7%). The rest of the team is 19-of-77 (24.7%).

DEADLY FROM LONG RANGE ...
Despite averaging only 25.5 minutes per game, Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) leads the team in scoring, averaging 19.2 points per game. He is fifth in the PSAC and first among players in the Eastern Division. He has made 33 of his 76 three-point attempts so far this season, ranking him second in the PSAC in threes made per game (2.8), second in total three-pointers made (33), and seventh in three-point percentage (43.4%). 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 72 triples (26 regular season games). The school record is 82 held by Jay DeShields during the 2001-02 campaign. His 84 three-pointers in only 37 career games have him closing in on the top ten in the program's career leaderboard.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE ...
Bloomsburg will 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.