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BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – Senior Malik Garner (Philadelphia/Chestnut Hill Academy) scored 21 points and redshirt freshman Tyriek Steward (Wilkes-Barre/Elmer Meyers) added a career-high 16 points as the Bloomsburg University men's basketball team held off a pesky Cheyney University squad, 76-72, on Saturday afternoon at the Nelson Field House. The Huskies improved to 17-8 overall and 15-6 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division. The Wolves lost for the 15th straight time and dropped to 2-22 overall and 1-20 in league play.
 
Redshirt sophomore Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) chipped in with 15 points for the Huskies, who won for the tenth time in their last eleven games. Mortellite has now reached double figures in scoring in 35 of his last 36 games.
 
Bloomsburg honored its four seniors prior to the opening tip-off – Garner, Wes Lyons (Millville/Millville), Charles Haigler (Charles Town, WV/Hargrave Military Academy), and Ashkan Naderi (Herndon, VA/Herndon) – and the quartet combined for 37 points in the victory. Haigler finished with nine points, five rebounds, and five assists while Lyons added seven points, three steals, and two blocks in the victory. Naderi made his first start of the season and had an assist in four minutes.
 
The visitors led for nearly eight minutes in the first half as they built up their biggest lead of the game, 12-7, with 15:09 left in the opening twenty minutes. Things then went quiet for the next five minutes as Bloomsburg outscored Cheyney, 5-2, during the span to cut the lead to 14-12.
 
Steward then took over.
 
The redshirt freshman scored Bloomsburg's next six points to put the Huskies ahead by an 18-17 margin with 8:52 left. Lyons hit two free throws and a layup from junior Yahmir Greenlee (Philadelphia/Boys Latin) gave the Huskies a 22-19 advantage with 7:18 remaining.
 
After Cheyney's Eugene Lett knotted the game at 22-22 with a triple, Steward scored again with 5:21 left, to put the Huskies ahead for good.
 
The teams exchanged points the rest of the half with Bloomsburg holding a slim, 34-30, lead at intermission.
 
Steward and Garner each had ten points in the first half.
 
Bloomsburg came out hot in the second half, going on a 6-0 spurt, to take its biggest lead of the game, 40-30, with 17:10 left. Haigler had four of the Huskies' six points during the mini run.
 
But, the pesky Wolves battled back and trimmed the Bloomsburg lead to one, 47-46, with 11:41 remaining. The Huskies then used back-to-back three-point plays from Garner and Steward to extend a two-point lead to eight, 56-48, with 9:38 left.
 
Cheyney would cut the lead to four, 60-56, with 6:16 remaining before Steward knocked down a wide-open three-pointer from the corner to put the Huskies ahead by seven with under six left. The Wolves kept the Huskies in their sights, never trailing by more than eight, down the stretch. And, after Michael Oyefusi connected on a triple with 54 seconds remaining, Cheyney trailed by just two points, 74-72.
 
The Wolves' Imir Bailey had a chance to tie but his jumper was long and the rebound was pulled down by sophomore Alex Prislupsky (Olyphant/Mid-Valley) with 11 seconds left. Prislupsky missed both foul shots but an offensive rebound from sophomore Kyle-Michael Rose (Middletown, DE/Sanford School), and two ensuing made foul shots, sealed the win.
 
The two free throws were the only points of the game for Rose, who played just ten minutes and entered as a 68.4% foul shooter.
 
After a cold-shooting first half for the Huskies, Bloomsburg shot 13-of-22 in the second half and finished 26-of-60 (43.3%) from the field. Steward led the way with a 7-of-9 performance from the floor. Cheyney, meanwhile, shot 41.6% from the field.
 
The Wolves held a 47-39 advantage on the glass and had 19 offensive rebounds. However, Cheyney turned those second chances into just nine points.
 
Garner's 21 points marked the third time in the last four games that he reached 20 points. He hadn't had a 20-point outing in his first 21 contests.
 
Bloomsburg, which remained tied with East Stroudsburg for third and one game ahead of Shippensburg for fourth, will travel to Shippensburg on Wednesday, February 24, for an opportunity to host a first round playoff game next Saturday. Tip-off on Wednesday is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.