Men's Basketball | 1/8/2016 3:22:00 PM

BLOOMSBURG (7-6, 5-4 PSAC East) at KUTZTOWN (11-2, 8-2 PSAC East)
Saturday, January 9, 2016 - 3:00 p.m.
Kutztown, Pa. | Keystone Arena

GAME NOTES:
Bloomsburg at Kutztown Game Notes

GAME COVERAGE:
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/kutztown/mbball/
Live Audio (WHLM-AM): http://www.whlmam.com
Live Video: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/ku-live

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

LAST TIME OUT ...
Bloomsburg had its modest two-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday, January 6, after an 81-71 loss at Edinboro in the final PSAC crossover game of the season. Despite a rough shooting night, the Huskies came from 14 points down in the second half to hold a three-point lead with 8:24 left. However, Edinboro scored 20 of the game's final 29 points over the last six minutes to earn the ten-point victory. Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) scored a team-high 14 points but struggled from the floor, shooting just 5-of-20 from the field and 1-of-9 from long distance. Malik Garner (Philadelphia/Chestnut Hill Academy) chipped in with 13 points while Yahmir Greenlee (Philadelphia/Boys Latin) added a career-high nine points in just ten minutes off the bench. Malik Sneed (Washington, D.C./Spingarn) finished just short of his second double-double of the season, adding eight points and a game-high, and career-high, 14 rebounds. Bloomsburg shot just 37.7 % from the field and made only five triples in 29 attempts.

THE KUTZTOWN SERIES ...
Bloomsburg leads the all-time series against Kutztown, 107-53, but the series has taken a turn in the Golden Bears' favor in recent history. Kutztown has won four of the last five, and seven of the last ten, meetings between the two schools. However, in each of the last ten contests, the margin of victory on either side has been no more than 11 points

LAST MEETING AGAINST KUTZTOWN ...
It was a tale of two halves when the Huskies and Golden Bears last met on February 18, 2015 at Kutztown's Keystone Arena. Kutztown eventually won the game by a 99-94 final, but not before nearly squandering a 30-point lead. The Golden Bears jumped out to a 60-32 lead at halftime thanks to 82.8% shooting from the field in the first half (24-of-29). Kutztown extended the lead to 30 points with 16:38 left in regulation before the Huskies began to chip away. Bloomsburg got the lead down to six, 92-86, with 1:54 left but the Golden Bears hit enough free throws down the stretch to hold off the frenetic Husky comeback bid. Charles Haigler (Charles Town, WV/Hargrave Military Academy) led Bloomsburg with 24 points while Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) and Alssene Saintilus (Williamstown, NJ/Williamstown) chipped in with 22 points apiece. Josh Johnson led Kutztown with 28 while three other Golden Bears finished in double figures.
 
SCOUTING KUTZTOWN ...
Kutztown enters Saturday's contest as won of the hottest teams in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference as it brings an 11-2 overall record and an 8-2 mark in PSAC play into the matchup. The Golden Bears have won three straight since a 78-70 loss at Shippensburg on December 19. Kutztown's other loss came at Mercyhurst (71-70 (OT)) on November 22. The Golden Bears are second in the PSAC in scoring offense, averaging 84.7 points per game. They have reached at least 100 points in a game three times this season. Meanwhile, Kutztown's defense is also one of the league's best, ranking fourth in the conference by allowing 70.0 points per game. The Golden Bears are fourth in the league in shooting percentage (47.9%), third in three-point shooting (38.6%), and sixth in free throws (71.9%). They also rank third in rebounding (42.4) and second in rebounding margin (+9.6). Six players average at least 8.4 points per game, led by Josh Johnson who scores 14.2 points a contest. Ryan Connolly is right behind at 14.0 while Anthony Lee also averages in double figures (10.8). Johnson also leads the team by averaging 8.7 rebounds per contest. Connolly is the team's main threat beyond the arc. He has made 31-of-72 three-point attempts (43.1%) this season.

OFF THE MARK ...
For just the fourth time this season, Bloomsburg was held to under 40% shooting in Wednesday's 81-71 loss at Edinboro, making just 26 of 69 attempts (37.7%). The Huskies also shot a season-low 17.2% from three-point range (5-of-29). The normally hot shooting Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) was held to just 14 points on 5-of-20 from the field and 1-of-9 from three-point range against the Fighting Scots.

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 second in the PSAC in free throw percentage this season as he has converted 64-of-71 from the stripe (90.1%). For his career, Mortellite is 156-of-173 from the foul line (90.2%).

A GAME OF SPECIALTY POINTS ...
Bloomsburg's contest against Slippery Rock 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 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. Bloomsburg also had a significant edge in fast break points  - 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 five games as he now ranks fourth on the team in scoring (7.7 ppg) after posting four double-digit scoring outputs in the last five contests. During the stretch, Garner dropped in a career-best 17 in the win over Mansfield on December 19. Over the last five games, Garner has scored 64 points (12.8 ppg) on 26-of-51 (51.0%) from the field and 7-of-14 (50.0%) 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 five of his double-digit scoring efforts this season have come over the course of the last eight games.

DOWNTOWN WITH THE HUSKIES ...
The Huskies have made at least one three-pointer in 140 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.

LIFE AT THE LINE ...
Through the first 13 games of the season, Bloomsburg has attempted 349 foul shots - an average of 26.8 attempts per game. The Huskies have made 248 free throws for a 71.1% shooting percentage - seventh-best in the PSAC. Over the last 11 games, the Huskies have averaged 28.6 trips to the charity stripe and are shooting at a 71.4% clip (225-315).  

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 19 points - and all 15 have scored at least one point. The Bloomsburg bench has scored 363 points this season, an average of 27.9 points per game and 37.5% of the team's scoring. The bench has outscored the opponents' bench in eight of the first 13 games and by a total margin of 363-330.

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 7.8 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 18th in the conference, with 20 steals (1.5 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 150 points to become the 29th player in school history to reach 1,000 career points.

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 50 (3.8 per game) and is second on the team in scoring (9.2 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 tied for 12th in the conference in assists (3.8 per game) but is sixth in the league in assist/turnover ratio (2.0). He has also recorded five 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 only had two players record a double-double through 13 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. Sneed then recorded a career-high 14 rebounds in the loss at Edinboro on Wednesday - just the fourth time this season that a Husky has recorded at least ten rebounds in a game.

DEADLY FROM LONG RANGE ...
Despite averaging only 25.9 minutes per game, Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) leads the team in scoring, averaging 18.8 points per game. That figure has him fifth in the PSAC and first among players in the Eastern Division. He has made 34 of his 85 three-point attempts so far this season, ranking him tied for second in the PSAC in threes made per game (2.6), and tied for second in total three-pointers made (34). 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 68 triples (26 regular season games). The school record is 82 held by Jay DeShields during the 2001-02 campaign. His 85 three-pointers in only 38 career games have him closing in on the top ten in the program's career leaderboard.

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.

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 108-147 overall record to date - third in Bloomsburg history among career wins. Sanow needs five 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 ...
Bloomsburg will close out its three-game road swing with a trip to Millersville on Wednesday, January 13 before returning home on Saturday, January 16 when it hosts Lock Haven at Nelson Field House. Tip-off on Wednesday is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. while Saturday's tilt begins at 3:00 p.m.