Men's Basketball | 2/2/2016 4:03:00 PM

BLOOMSBURG (12-7, 10-5 PSAC East) vs #17 WEST CHESTER (17-3, 13-3 PSAC East)
Wednesday, February 3, 2016 - 7:30 p.m.
Bloomsburg, Pa. | Nelson Field House

GAME NOTES:
Bloomsburg vs West Chester Game Notes

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

RELATED LINKS:
Bloomsburg - Roster | Schedule | Statistics
West Chester - Roster | Schedule | Statistics

LAST TIME OUT ...
It looked futile at the outset, but Bloomsburg rallied for a stunning 91-84 victory at East Stroudsburg on Saturday. The Huskies couldn't get anything going early and fell behind by the scores of 10-0, 19-2, and 24-6 before going on a 16-0 run to get back into the ball game. Bloomsburg fell behind, 56-45, with 15:54 left before the Huskies rallied again - scoring 20 of the game's next 30 points. Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) took over down the stretch and put Bloomsburg ahead for good with 3:35 left. Mortellite finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds for his second consecutive double-double. Donell Diggs (Washington, D.C./Takoma Academy) scored a career-high 22 while senior Charles Haigler (Charles Town, WV/Hargrave Military Academy) (14) and Alex Prislupsky (Olyphant/Mid-Valley) (10) also reached double figures. Bloomsburg's foul shooting was the difference - the Huskies were 31-of-35 from the line, including 22-of-23 in the second half.

STREAK SNAPPER ...
Bloomsburg's 91-84 victory at East Stroudsburg on January 30 snapped a nine-game winning streak for the Warriors and also stopped a seven-game losing streak in the all-time series between the two schools. Prior to Saturday, Bloomsburg's last win over East Stroudsburg was an 80-78 win at Nelson Field House on February 22, 2012. During the seven-game losing skid against the Warriors, the Huskies had been outscored by an average of 89-66.

THE WEST CHESTER SERIES ...
Bloomsburg holds a slim, 66-65, advantage over West Chester in the all-time series. The Golden Rams have, however, narrowed the gap against the Huskies in the series - West Chester has won nine of the last eleven meetings between the two schools. Bloomsburg's two wins during the stretch have come by a total of four points.

LAST MEETING AGAINST WEST CHESTER ...
Bloomsburg started fast, jumping out to a 13-4 lead early before taking a 34-30 advantage into the locker room at halftime. The Huskies led by as many as six points on two different occasions in the second half, only to watch the Golden Rams take the lead for good, 58-56, with 6:38 left in regulation. Malik Garner (Philadelphia/Chestnut Hill Academy) posted his second straight double-digit game and led the Huskies with a career-high 16 points. Tyriek Steward (Wilkes-Barre/Elmer Meyers) also recorded a career-best with 15 points in 20 minutes off the bench. Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) had a rough shooting night, going 4-of-15 from the field and 0-of-6 from three-point range. He did, however, go 7-of-7 at the foul line to finish with 15 points.  
 
SCOUTING WEST CHESTER ...
The 17th-ranked Golden Rams find themselves atop the bunched-up PSAC East standings with a 17-3 overall record and a 13-3 mark in league play - half-a-game ahead of second-place Kutztown. West Chester most recently played on January 30 and earned a 64-59 home win over Shippensburg. Four of the team's last six games have been decided by ten points or fewer, including an 84-82 win over last-place Cheyney on Janaury 13. The Golden Rams are a perfect 8-0 away from home this season. Malik Jackson leads West Chester in scoring, averaging 15.2 points per game. Matt Wiseley averages a double-double, posting 11.8 points per game and 11.1 rebounds per contest - second in the PSAC. Avery Brown (10.8) and Mike Wilson (10.1) are also in double figures. The Golden Rams average 81.2 points per game on offense and allow 72.4. They also hold a +9.7 rebounding margin - tops in the conference. Matt Penecale runs the offense and averages 9.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 5.3 assists. Wilson and Thomas White (8.8 ppg) are the main threats off the bench while Wilson and Jackson have combined to make 82 three-pointers this season. West Chester is third in the PSAC in triples (8.2 per game) while shooting 37.7% from long range.

DOWNTOWN WITH THE HUSKIES ...
The Huskies have made at least one three-pointer in 146 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 struggled to keep the streak alive on Saturday, January 9 at Kutztown, however, as the Huskies went just 2-of-13 from long range. Alex Prislupsky (Olyphant/Mid-Valley) hit the team's first triple with 18:08 left in the contest. From January 3 against Slippery Rock to Janaury 13 at Millersville, Bloomsburg had made a total of 14 three-pointers (3.5 per game) and was shooting just 20.6% from long distance during the month of January. However, over the last four contests, the Huskies are 23-of-57 (40.4%) from long distance.

WE'RE GOING STREAKING ...
With its victory at East Stroudsburg on January 30, Bloomsburg enters on a five-game winning streak for the first time since beginning the 2014-15 season with six consecutive victories from November 14, 2014 to December 1, 2014. During the stretch, the Huskies have averaged 79.0 points per game on offense but are only allowing 64.8 points per game. The four-game streak is currently the longest in the East and second-longest in the PSAC (IUP, 10).

MORTELLITE NAMED PSAC EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK ...
Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) captured the PSAC East Player of the Week honors on Monday for the second time this season after averaging 23.0 points and 11.5 rebounds in a pair of Husky victories last week. Mortellite had 20 points and a career-high 12 boards in the win over Shippensburg last Wednesday and then posted 26 points and 11 rebounds in the win at East Stroudsburg on Saturday.

FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING ...
After not recording a double-double in his first 42 collegiate games, Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) enters Wednesday's contest with back-to-back double-doubles. The two 20-point  efforts last week gave him 11 such games for the season while his two double-digit rebounding efforts were the first two of his career.

DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE ...
Malik Garner (Philadelphia/Chestnut Hill Academy) and Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) both recorded double-doubles in the 81-70 victory over Shippensburg on January 27. For Garner, it was his third double-double of the season while Mortellite recorded the first one of his collegiate career. Garner had 13 points and a team-high 14 rebounds while Mortellite scored a game-high 20 points to go along with 12 rebounds. The Huskies shattered their season-high with 54 rebounds in the win - 20 on the offensive glass.

FINDING HIS STROKE ...
Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) had a huge game in the Huskies' 74-61 victory at Cheyney on January 20, pouring in a game-high 28 points to lift Bloomsburg to its third straight victory. He tied a career-high with 10 field goals and established a season-high with five three-pointers (six attempts) in the win. He has had back-to-back 20-point scoring efforts for the first time since recording 23 points against Lincoln on November 28 and 24 points against East Stroudsburg on December 1. In his first four games during the month of January, Mortellite struggled by making only 3-of-21 three-point attempts (14.3%). However, over the last four contests, Mortellite is back on track, making 12-of-22 from long distance (54.5%). Mortellite has 47 three-pointers this season which is 17th on the school's single-season list. After making 51 treys last season, Mortellite is now 10th for most career triples with 98 - in only 44 career games.

OUT LIKE A LYONS ...
Wes Lyons (Millville/Millville) is closing out his collegiate career by putting together one of the best runs of his time with the Huskies. In the win over Cheyney on January 20, Lyons had 12 points, a season-high nine rebounds, and a career-high three blocks. From November 14 to January 6 (12 games), Lyons averaged only 4.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 0.5 blocks. However, over his last six games, Lyons is averaging 9.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks as the Huskies have gone 5-1 during the stretch. He started the stretch with a season-high 16 points against Kutztown on January 9. He also leads the team in field goal percentage this season, making 52-of-100 shots (52.0%). With his 12 points against Cheyney on January 20, Lyons went over 500 points for his career and his six rebounds against Shippensburg on January 27 gave him 300.

ALL-AROUND CAREER ...
Charles Haigler (Charles Town, WV/Hargrave Military Academy) currently ranks fourth on the team in scoring by averaging 7.7 points per game. He is also third on the team in assists with 29 (1.5 per game) and leads the team, and is tied for 13th in the conference, with 28 steals (1.5 per game). He is climbing a number of program career leaderboards which includes being ranked tied for fourth in career steals with 165 (Trevon Johnson - 2008-12). He trails Aaron Carter (1998-02) by 16 to move into a tie for third on the all-time list. Haigler also needs 105 points to become the 29th player in school history to reach 1,000 career points. For his career, Haigler averages 9.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.8 steals.

DEPTH PERCEPTION ...
Bloomsburg is getting production from a number of different players this season as 13 of the 15 players that have played at least one game this year has registered at least 13 points - and all 15 have scored at least three points. The Bloomsburg bench has scored 483 points this season, an average of 25.4 points per game and 33.6% of the team's scoring.

GARNERING SOME ATTENTION ...
Senior Malik Garner (Philadelphia/Chestnut Hill Academy) has rapidly climbed up the team's scoring list over the course of the last 11 games as he now ranks third on the team in scoring (8.4 ppg) after posting eight double-digit scoring outputs in the last 11 contests. During the stretch, Garner dropped in a career-best 17 in the win over Mansfield on December 19. Over the last 11 games, Garner has scored 124 points (11.3 ppg) on 50-of-107 (46.7%) from the field and 11-of-31 (35.5%) 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. His rebounding is also up - he is averaging 7.6 rebounds over the last 11 games after posting only 3.8 per game in his first eight.

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 81 (4.3 per game) and is second on the team in scoring (9.9 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 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 fourth in the conference in assists (4.3) and is fourth in the league in assist/turnover ratio (2.1). He has recorded ten double-digit scoring efforts with his season-high of 22 coming at East Stroudsburg on Janaury 30. Diggs has also had three games with at least eight assists and eleven contests with at least four helpers.

COMING UP ROSES ...
Sophomore Kyle-Michael Rose (Middletown, DE/Sanford School) sparked the Huskies off the bench against Shippensburg on January 27, scoring a career-high 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting and 4-of-6 from the line. It was the first time that Rose had recorded at least ten points in a game in a Bloomsburg uniform. He became the 10th different player to hit double figures in a game this season. He added seven rebounds and three blocks in the victory. He entered the game averaging only 2.6 points and 2.7 rebounds in his first 17 games of the campaign.

EPIC RUN ...
Bloomsburg got off to a sluggish start on Saturday, January 16, against Lock Haven but then went on a remarkable run to earn a 78-49 victory over the Bald Eagles. Trailing 19-13 with 8:49 left in the first half, Bloomsburg outscored Lock Haven 31-2 over the next 12:34 to take a 44-21 lead with 16:15 left in regulation. The Huskies trailed 19-18 with 5:11 left in the opening half and scored the next 26 points in the game, limiting Lock Haven to zero points in 8:56 of game action.

Then, trailing 24-6 at East Stroudsburg on January 30, the Huskies went on a 16-0 run to get back into the game which eventually led to a stunning 91-84 come-from-behind victory.

MORE ON MORTELLITE ...
After leading the team in scoring as a rookie last season, Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) again leads the team in scoring this year, averaging 19.3 points per game. That figure has him fifth in the PSAC and first among players in the Eastern Division.  Last season, Mortellite hit 51 of his 119 three-point attempts (42.9%). His 51 triples last season was the 14th-highest figure in program history. This season, Mortellite is on pace for 64 triples (26 regular season games). The school record is 82 held by Jay DeShields during the 2001-02 campaign. He has moved into the top ten in career three-pointers with 98.

SANOW PASSES SHELLY FOR 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 113-148 overall record to date - second in Bloomsburg history among career wins. Bloomsburg's 81-70 victory over Shippensburg on January 27 was Sanow's 112th career win, and the 91-84 win at East Stroudsburg was #113 on January 30, which moved him ahead of 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 head to Mansfield on Saturday, February 6. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. The Huskies handed the Mountaineers a 96-65 loss at Nelson Field House on December 19.