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BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The Bloomsburg University men's basketball team hit a season-high ten three-pointers - five from redshirt sophomore Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) - and cruised to an 85-59 victory over Millersville University on Wednesday night at the Nelson Field House. The Huskies, who have won nine of their last ten games, improved to 16-8 overall and 14-6 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division. The Marauders fell to 3-20 overall and 3-16 in league play.
 
Mortellite finished with a game-high 24 points on 8-of-12 from the floor, 5-of-6 from long distance, and 3-of-4 at the foul line. It was his third consecutive 20-point outing and was his 14th such game of the season. Mortellite also added seven rebounds and a team-high five assists in the victory.
 
The redshirt sophomore has now reached double figures in 34 of his last 35 games.
 
The Huskies also got solid production from redshirt senior Wes Lyons (Millville/Millville), junior Donell Diggs (Washington, D.C./Takoma Academy), and redshirt freshman Tyriek Steward (Wilkes-Barre/Elmer Meyers). Lyons finished with 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds while Diggs and Steward added ten points apiece in the victory.
 
Bloomsburg got off to a slow start, falling behind 7-0 at the outset before Mortellite nailed a jumper from just inside the arc to give the Huskies their first points of the night more than three minutes into the game. Lyons and senior Charles Haigler (Charles Town, WV/Hargrave Military Academy) followed with baskets to cut the lead to 7-6 at the first media timeout.
 
Millersville extended the lead to 9-6 with 15:13 left in the first half before the Huskies went on a 15-4 run over the span of six minutes to take a 21-13 lead with 9:13 remaining. The Marauders would trim the lead to as few as three points, 23-20, with 6:54 left before Mortellite went on a tear to close out the half.
 
Mortellite scored 11 points, including three triples, over the final 6:54 of the opening half to help the Huskies build a 39-27 lead at the intermission. The sharpshooter finished the opening twenty minutes with 18 points on 7-of-9 from the field and 4-of-4 from three-point range.
 
The visitors cut the lead to eleven, 45-34, with 16:26 left in regulation before the Huskies went on another huge run to eliminate any doubt in the outcome. Bloomsburg scored 25 of the game's next 32 points to open up a 70-41 lead with 6:18 remaining. The Huskies would extend the lead to as many as 34 points down the stretch before settling for the 26-point victory.
 
For the second consecutive game, Bloomsburg shot better than 50% from the field and finished the game by making 30 of its 59 attempts from the floor (50.8%). The Huskies made their shots really count from long range as they hit 10-of-17 (58.8%) from beyond the arc. Mortellite led the way with five triples which tied a season-high and was one shy of tying his career-best. Steward hit two from long distance as did senior Ashkan Naderi (Herndon, VA/Herndon), who played the final three minutes and change in his first action since December 4 against Mercyhurst. Naderi finished the evening with six points and an assist.
 
The Huskies also had 23 assists – five from Mortellite and four from Diggs and junior Yahmir Greenlee (Philadelphia/Boys Latin) – while turning the ball over just 11 times. The 23 helpers were one shy of tying a season-high.
 
On the other end, Millersville struggled to make shots. The Marauders finished the night 16-of-64 from the field (25.0%) and just 2-of-25 from three-point range (8.0%). Millersville especially struggled in the second half when it shot 23.8% from the floor and did not make a three-pointer in 14 tries.
 
Millersville outrebounded Bloomsburg by a slim 44-41 margin which included 17 offensive rebounds – most of which came when the game was no longer in doubt.
 
Shawn Williams led the visitors with 13 points but was 2-of-13 from the floor and 1-of-10 from deep. Ricky Mosley chipped in with 10 for the Marauders.
 
The Huskies will play their final home game of the regular season on Saturday afternoon, February 20, when they host Cheyney University at the Nelson Field House. Bloomsburg will honor its four seniors – Haigler, Lyons, Naderi, and Malik Garner (Philadelphia/Chestnut Hill Academy) – prior to the opening tip-off which is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.