BLOOMSBURG (6-5, 2-5 PSAC East) at #14 SHIPPENSBURG (11-0, 7-0 PSAC East)
Friday, January 6, 2017 - 8:00 p.m.
Shippensburg, Pa. | Heiges Field House

GAME NOTES:
Bloomsburg at Shippensburg Game Notes

GAME COVERAGE:
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RELATED LINKS:
Bloomsburg - Roster | Schedule | Statistics
Shippensburg - Roster | Schedule | Statistics

LAST TIME OUT ...
Bloomsburg jumped out to a 50-30 lead at halftime and cruised to a 104-63 victory over visiting Cheyney University on Tuesday night at the Nelson Field House. The Huskies had five players finish in double figures led, once again, by redshirt junior Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) who finished with 22 points. Junior Alex Prislupsky (Olyphant, Pa./Mid-Valley) nailed a career-high six three-pointers (on seven attempts) and tied a career-high with 19 points. Junior Kyle-Michael Rose (Middletown, Del./Sanford School (Highland CC)) (16), junior Carnell McGirt (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic (Valley Forge Military Academy)) (14), and senior Yahmir Greenlee (Philadelphia, Pa./Boys Latin) (12) also reached double figures. McGirt added 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. Zahir Stewart led Cheyney with 13 points while Khaalis Carter added 11 in the loss.

STARTING FIVE ...
1 - Redshirt junior Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) continues his rapid ascent up Bloomsburg's all-time scoring list. After his 22 points against Cheyney, Mortellite moved into 20th place on the school's all-time list with 1,118 career points. He leapfrogged Matt Jefferson (2002-07) during the win and now trails Al Williams (1975-78) by 55 points to move into a tie for 19th place. He has scored at least 20 points in ten of the eleven games this season and has 30 career 20-point efforts in 63 collegiate games. He has hit double figures in 47 of his last 49 games and has been held to under 10 points in a game only nine times in his career.

2 - Bloomsburg reached the century mark in the win over Cheyney for the first time since defeating Penn State Lehigh Valley, 100-64, on December 1, 2014. The Huskies had a tremendous effort shooting the ball as they went 33-of-58 (56.9%) for the game which included 17-of-23 (73.9%) in the second half. Bloomsburg also hit a season-high 13 three-pointers (22 attempts) and was 25-of-29 at the free-throw line (86.2%) in the victory. The Huskies also posted season-highs in assists (25) and blocked shots (11).

3 - Senior Yahmir Greenlee (Philadelphia, Pa./Boys Latin) has sparked the Huskies' offense as he has started each of the last two games after missing the first nine games of the season. Greenlee, who has started for Donell Diggs (Washington, D.C./Takoma Academy (Prince George's CC)), finished with career-highs in points (15), assists (9), and steals (4) while tying a career-best in rebounds (4) in the 88-73 victory at West Chester on December 30. He followed that up with 12 points and six assists in the win over Cheyney this past Tuesday. Greenlee averaged 4.7 points and 1.6 assists in 18 games (one start) with the Huskies last season. He had posted a previous high of 14 points in a win at Mansfield on February 6, 2016 and hit double digits in scoring only twice last season.

4 - After averaging only 3.8 points and 3.0 rebounds last season, junior Kyle-Michael Rose (Middletown, Del./Sanford School (Highland CC)) has stepped into more of an offensive role this season. Rose has hit double figures in scoring six times after hitting the mark only twice all of last season. He posted the first double-double of his Bloomsburg career against Pitt-Johnstown with 10 points and 10 rebounds and then added a second with career-highs in both points (17) and rebounds (12) against Wilmington. He is averaging 9.0 points and 4.9 boards this season.

5 - Bloomsburg had three players post a double-double in the win at Wilmington - Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) (28 pts, 11 reb), Kyle-Michael Rose (Middletown, Del./Sanford School (Highland CC)) (17 pts, 12 reb), and Carnell McGirt (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic (Valley Forge Military Academy)) (12 pts, 11 reb). It marked the first time multiple Huskies' players had a double-double since February 10, 2016 against Kutztown - Mortellite (25 pts, 13 reb) and Malik Garner (Philadelphia, Pa./Chestnut Hill Academy) (20 pts, 10 reb). The Huskies had not had three players post a double-double in the same game since prior to the 1990-1991 season.

THE SERIES ...
Bloomsburg leads the all-time series against Shippensburg, 104-67.

LAST MEETING AGAINST SHIPPENSBURG ...
Shippensburg ended Bloomsburg's season a year ago when Abe Massaley hit a layup with eight-tenths of a second left to lift the Raiders to an 80-78 win over the Huskies in the opening round of the PSAC Tournament at Heiges Field House. Tyriek Steward (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./Elmer Meyers) scored a career-high 28 points for the Huskies, including 13 consecutive Bloomsburg points over the final 4:20 of regulation. The Raiders led by five, 77-72, with 35 seconds left. Steward cut the lead to two with a three-pointer with 16 seconds left then, after Massaley hit one-of-two from the foul line, Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) buried a three-pointer to tie the game at 78-78 with just over seven seconds left. Mortellite finished with 16 points, joining Steward as the only Huskies to finish in double figures. Massaley led the Raiders with 17 points and 11 assists to lead four players in double figures.

SCOUTING THE RAIDERS ...
To say that Shippensburg is off to a blazing start would be an understatement. The Raiders are ranked 14th in the country and come into the contest with a perfect 11-0 overall record and a 7-0 mark in the PSAC Eastern Division. The Raiders lead the PSAC in seven different categories including socring offense (87.7), scoring margin (+21.5), three-pointers per game (10.5), free throw percentage (80.7%), defensive rebounds per game (30.0), total rebounds per game (41.4), and three-point defense (26.7%). Junior forward Dustin Sleva has had eight double-doubles and is averaging 21.3 points and 11.5 rebounds this season. He is the only player in Division II to average more than 21 points, more than 11 rebounds, and to have hit at least 20 three-pointers this season. All five Shippensburg starters average double figures - joining Sleva are Abe Massaley (13.5 points, 5.3 assists), Justin McCarthur (13.1 points), Antonio Kellem (12.7 points), and John Castello (12.2 points, 10.0 rebounds).

NEW MEMBER OF THE 1,000-POINT CLUB ...
On Saturday, December 3, redshirt junior Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) became the latest member of Bloomsburg University's 1,000-point club when he hit a pair of second-half free throws during the Huskies' 74-68 loss at Mercyhurst. All told, 29 players have hit the milestone in Bloomsburg's history with Mike Ellzy leading the way with 1,911 career points (1993-97). Mortellite now has 1,118 points in his Huskies' career - 20th on the school's all-time list. He needs 55 points to tie Al Williams (1975-78) for 19th position.

CLIMBING ANOTHER LIST ...
Not only is Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) climbing the school's scoring list, but he is also rapidly ascending the program's all-time list for career three-pointers. He owns sole possession of fifth on the school's all-time list after he surpassed Aaron Carter and Mike Cheatle with four triples in the win over Lincoln on November 15. Mortellite now has 161 for his career. Next in his sights is Jay DeShields who knocked down 205 triples from 1998-2002.

NOT FOUL AT THE LINE ...
Bloomsburg has been impressive from the charity stripe this season as it ranks third in the PSAC, and 29th in the country, in free-throw percentage (76.4%). Senior Donell Diggs (Washington, D.C./Takoma Academy (Prince George's CC)) (90.5%) and redshirt junior Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) (88.9%) are second and third in the league, respectively, in accuracy. Junior Kyle-Michael Rose (Middletown, Del./Sanford School (Highland CC)) (81.6%) is tied for 11th in the PSAC. The Huskies have also made a living at the line as they have made more trips to the stripe than their opponent in ten of the eleven games and have scored more points from the line in all eleven of the contests. Bloomsburg is +72 from the free-throw line this season.

DOWNTOWN WITH THE HUSKIES ...
The Huskies have made at least one three-pointer in 165 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 has made at least ten three-pointers in a game three times this season - at Penn State Hazleton (10-of-21), against Pitt-Johnstown (10-of-24), and against Cheyney (13-of-22). The Huskies made ten three-pointers in a game just one time last season - an 85-59 home victory against Millersville on February 17, 2016 (10-of- 17). Mortellite is sixth in the PSAC in three-point percentage (44.9%), tops in the PSAC (sixth in the country) in three-pointers per game (4.0), and tops in the PSAC in total three-pointers (44). Mortellite and junior Alex Prislupsky (Olyphant, Pa./Mid-Valley) have combined to hit 60 of the team's 81 three-pointers.

COMING UP ROSES ...
Junior Kyle-Michael Rose (Middletown, Del./Sanford School (Highland CC)) has developed into a threat on the offensive end this season. One year after averaging only 3.8 points and 3.0 rebounds, Rose is sixth on the team in scoring (9.0) and fourth in rebounding (4.9) this season. He has had his first two career double-doubles and has hit double figures in scoring four times. He leads the team in field goal percentage (54.8%) and has also been efficient at the foul line, going 31-of- 38 (81.6%) - 11th in the PSAC. Nearly half of his 54 rebounds (26) have come on the offensive glass. He is tied for the team lead in offensive rebounds (Malik Sneed (Washington, D.C./Spingarn (Prince George's CC))).

BENCH PRODUCTION ...
Through eleven games this season, the bench has produced a total of 220 points - an average of 20.0 points per game. Production has certainly increased as the Huskies are now bringing juniors Carnell McGirt (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic (Valley Forge Military Academy)) and Kyle-Michael Rose (Middletown, Del./Sanford School (Highland CC)) off the bench. In fact, Bloomsburg's bench outscored West Chester, 34-8, last Friday with McGirt and Rose combining for 28 of those points. On Tuesday, the Huskies had a season-high 41 points from their bench. Bloomsburg's reserves have outscored the opponent in each of the last five games and by a margin of 118-77. With the recent trend, the Huskies have narrowed the gap in bench production compared to their opponents. The opposition has now totaled 231 bench points through eleven games (21.0 per game).

UP NEXT ...
Bloomsburg will return home to host the Fighting Scots of Edinboro on Monday night, January 9. Tipoff from the Nelson Field House is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. The Huskies are 10-16 lifetime against Edinboro.