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CLARION, Pa. - The Bloomsburg University men's basketball team trailed by as many as 17 points midway through the second half and could not get over the hump as the Huskies dropped a 77-70 decision at Clarion University on Saturday afternoon. The Huskies dropped to 3-5 overall and 0-5 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division while the Golden Eagles improved to 5-4 overall and 3-2 in the PSAC West.

Redshirt junior Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) paced the Huskies with 21 points on 7-of-16 shooting. He added five rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and two steals. Senior Donell Diggs (Washington, D.C./Takoma Academy (Prince George's CC)) poured in a season-high 19 points as the duo were the only two players in double figures for Bloomsburg.

The game was close throughout the first half as Bloomsburg built up the largest lead of the opening twenty minutes, 26-18, with 6:43 remaining after a layup from junior Alex Prislupsky (Olyphant, Pa./Mid-Valley). However, the Golden Eagles went on a 13-0 run to erase the eight-point deficit and to take a 31-26 lead with 3:20 left. Redshirt sophomore Darius Robinson-Wallace (Philadelphia, Pa./Delaware Valley Charter) followed with a triple and Mortellite added a layup to tie the game at 31-31 with 2:35 left in the opening half. Clarion, however, scored six of the final nine points of the half to take a 37-34 lead to the locker room at halftime.

The Huskies went ice cold at the outset of the second half as the hosts built up a 47-34 lead by scoring the first ten points of the half. Mortellite finally got the Huskies on the board in the second half with a jumper in the paint just over four minutes into the frame. Clarion continued to pour it on, building the lead up to 57-40 with 13:12 left in regulation before the Huskies began to chip away.

Bloomsburg went on an 11-0 run over the next four minutes to cut the lead to six, 57-51, with 9:27 left. Diggs and Mortellite combined to score nine of the eleven points with Robinson-Wallace knocking down a jumper to provide the other two points. Clarion went on to get the lead back up to nine, 64-55, after a three-pointer from Justin Grant with 7:13 remaining. With the Golden Eagles still leading by nine, 67-58, with 4:48 left, the Huskies went on one final run. The Huskies scored the next eight points, cutting the lead to 67-66 after a pair of free throws by Prislupsky with 3:43 left in regulation.

Clarion, however, knocked down four straight free throws to extend the lead to 71-66 with 2:09 remaining. Two free throws from Diggs and a free throw from senior Malik Sneed (Washington, D.C./Spingarn (Prince George's CC)) got the Golden Eagle advantage back down to two, 71-69, with 1:33 left in regulation. But, that would be as close as the Huskies would come.

Robinson-Wallace, Prislupsky, and junior Kyle-Michael Rose (Middletown, Del./Sanford School (Highland CC)) each added seven points for the Huskies in the setback.

BJ Andrews led Clarion with a game-high 22 points as he led four Golden Eagles in double figures.

Bloomsburg returns to the Nelson Field House on Sunday, December 18 to host Felician University. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.