Men's Basketball | 2/14/2017 9:32:00 PM

BLOOMSBURG (13-9, 9-9 PSAC East) at MANSFIELD (9-13, 7-12 PSAC East)
Wednesday, February 15, 2017 - 7:30 p.m.
Mansfield, Pa. | Decker Gymnasium

GAME NOTES:
Bloomsburg at Mansfield Game Notes

GAME COVERAGE:
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/mansfield/mbball/
Live Audio (WHLM): http://www.whlm.com

RELATED LINKS:
Bloomsburg - Roster | Schedule | Statistics
Mansfield - Roster | Schedule | Statistics

LAST TIME OUT ...
Bloomsburg jumped out to a 42-22 lead at halftime and cruised to a 90-58 victory at Millersville last Wednesday, February 8. The Huskies never trailed in the contest as Yahmir Greenlee put the first points on the scoreboard one minute into the game. Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) led the Huskies with 21 points and moved into tenth place on the school's all-time scoring list. Five others joined Mortellite in double figures. Sam Saxton (York, Pa./Central York) made his first collegiate start and finished with a career-high 14 points. Yahmir Greenlee and Malik Sneed finished with 13 points apiece while Kyle-Michael Rose (Middletown, Del./Sanford School) and Carnell McGirt chipped in 10 points each.

STARTING FIVE ...
1 - Redshirt junior Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) continues his rapid ascent up Bloomsburg's all-time scoring list. The sharpshooter currently sits in 10th place on the school's all-time list with 1,374 career points. He jumped ahead of Shawn Munford (1997-01) and Robert Herzig (1961-65) in the win at Millersville last Wednesday and now trails Dontahe Jordan (2010-14) by two points for ninth and Mike Weinrich (1979-82) by 23 points to move into eighth place. He has scored at least 20 points in 19 of the 22 games this season and has 39 career 20-point efforts in 74 collegiate games. He has hit double figures in 58 of his last 60 games and has been held to under 10 points in a game only nine times in his career.

2 - Senior Yahmir Greenlee has sparked the Huskies' offense as he has started the last 13 games. Greenlee finished with then-career-highs in points (15), assists (9), and steals (4) while tying a career-best in rebounds (4) in the victory at West Chester on December 30. He broke his career-high with 19 points at Shippensburg, broke it again with 21 points against Mansfield, and then broke it one final time with 25 points at Kutztown on January 18. All told, Greenlee has hit double figures in all 13 games and is averaging 16.7 points and 3.5 assists. He hit double digits in scoring only twice last season.

3 - The Huskies are among the national leaders in several categories as a team while Mortellite's shooting touch has him among the country's leaders in a handful of individual categories. As a team, Bloomsburg ranks ninth in the country in free throw percentage (78.6%) and 12th in blocks per game (5.1) while ranking 32nd in the nation in three-point percentage (40.0%). Michigan Tech leads the country in free throw percentage at 80.6% while Ferris State leads in blocked shots per game (6.9). Mortellite, meanwhile, is second in the country in three-pointers per game (4.05). He trails only Lincoln Memorial's Luquon Choice (4.21). Mortellite is also seventh in the nation in total threes (89), 14th in points per game (22.9), 16th in free-throw percentage (90.0%), and 29th in three-point percentage (44.9%).

4 - Mortellite broke one school record against West Chester on February 1 - most three-pointers in a single-season - and has the potential to break several more by season's end. He has 89 three-pointers this season - Dana Wieller holds the Bloomsburg record, men or women, for threes in a season with 97 during the 2011-12 season. In terms of scoring, Mike Ellzy holds the school-record for points in a season with 600 - Mortellite is at 503. Ellzy also holds the school-record for most three-point attempts in a season with 227 - Mortellite is at 198. Aaron Carter holds the program record for most free throws made in a season with 143 - Mortellite is at 108. Finally, in terms of career records, Lorenzo Christmas holds the school record for career triples with 237 - Mortellite enters Wednesday's game with 206.

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) (17 pts, 12 reb), and Carnell McGirt (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 (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 Mansfield, 104-75.

LAST MEETING AGAINST MANSFIELD ...
Bloomsburg exploded for 59 second-half points to erase an eight-point halftime deficit and to knock off Mansfield, 86-79, at the Nelson Field House on January 11. The Huskies trailed by as many as 12 points with 14:44 left but exploded for 52 points over the final minutes of regulation to post the comeback victory. Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) led the Huskies with 22 points while Yahmir Greenlee added 21 points, including a three-pointer that extended Bloomsburg's lead to four with 39 seconds left. Carnell McGirt had 18 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Malik Carter led the Mountaineers with 25 points.

SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS ...
Mansfield enters with a 9-13 overall record and a 7-12 in the PSAC Eastern Division. The Mountaineers have lost two straight but battled hard in both games, on the road, against two nationally-ranked opponents. Mansfield took #9 Kutztown to overtime before falling 83-79 on February 8 and then suffered an 81-63 loss at #13 Shippensburg on Saturday. Malik Carter and Matt Tamanosky are tied for the team lead in scoring as they both average 17.0 points per game. Tamanosky is second in the PSAC in field goal percentage (62.8%) while Carter also pulls down a team-high 6.5 rebounds per game and leads the team in steals with 49. Cedrick Powell is fourth in the PSAC in assists per game (5.7) while averaging 11.6 points per contest. Jahyde Gardiner is fifth in the PSAC in blocks per game (1.7) and averages 11.0 points per game to rank fourth on the team. Mansfield is 11th in the conference in both scoring offense (73.8) and scoring defense (75.5). The Mountaineers are not a big threat from deep - they have made 100 in 22 games this season (4.5) and shoot only 29.7% from long range.

SAXTON NAMED PSAC EAST FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK ...
Redshirt freshman Sam Saxton (York, Pa./Central York) earned his first collegiate weekly honor on Monday when he was named the PSAC East Freshman of the Week. He made his first collegiate start last Wednesday at Millersville and scored a career-high 14 points while hitting a career-best four three-pointers in six attempts. He came into last week's contest averaging only 3.9 points per game in 17 appearances off the bench.

ONE RECORD DOWN ...
Redshirt junior Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) hit five threes in the win over West Chester on February 1 to give him the program's single-season school-record for three-pointers with 83. Jay DeShields held the previous record of 82 during the 2001-02 season. He now has 89 threes on the season - the school-record for threes in a season, men or women, is 97 set by Dana Wieller during the 2011-12 season.

McGIRT HEATING UP ...
Junior Carnell McGirt has provided the Huskies with an offensive spark since getting off to a bit of a slow start. In his first eight games, McGirt averaged 8.8 points and 6.5 rebounds but, in his last 14 games (seven in a reserve role), McGirt is averaging 14.8 points and 7.5 rebounds. He has hit double figures in 13 of his last 14 games including a career-high 26 points in the loss at Shippensburg on January 6.

HE'S RISING ...
On Saturday, December 3, Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) became the latest member of Bloomsburg University's 1,000-point club 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 1,374 points in his Huskies' career - 10th on the school's all-time list. He needs two points to tie Dontahe Jordan (2010-14) for ninth and 23 points to tie Mike Weinrich (1979-82) for eighth. Mortellite is also climbing the school's all-time list for career three-pointers. Mortellite now has 206 three-pointers for his career - tied for third on the all-time list. He is 19 behind Mike Ellzy (1993-97) for second.

NOT FOUL AT THE LINE ...
Bloomsburg has been impressive from the charity stripe this season as it ranks second in the PSAC, and ninth in the country, in free-throw percentage (78.6%). Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) (90.0%) and senior Donell Diggs (88.3%) are second and third in the league, respectively, in accuracy. Mortellite is 16th in the country while Diggs is 23rd. Junior Carnell McGirt (81.1%) is tied for 13th 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 17 of the 22 games (tied in two) and have scored more points from the line in 19 of the 22 contests (tied in one). Bloomsburg is +109 from the free-throw line this season.

DOWNTOWN WITH THE HUSKIES ...
The Huskies have made at least one three-pointer in 176 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 seven times this season after achieving that feat just one time last season - an 85-59 home victory against Millersville on February 17, 2016 (10-of-17).

MORTELLITE CLAIMS PSAC EAST HONORS AGAIN ...
Mortellite was named the PSAC East Co-Athlete of the Week on January 30 after leading the Huskies to a 2-0 record. He averaged 28.0 points, including a season-high 33 points at Lock Haven, January 25. He also averaged 5.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists while shooting 58.8% from the field in the two games. Mortellite earned Athlete of the Week honors on January 17 and Co-Athlete of the Week accolades on November 28.

UP NEXT ...
Bloomsburg will conclude its three-game road swing with its final contest away from home during the regular season on Saturday, February 18 at East Stroudsburg. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. The Huskies dropped a 99-85 decision at home to the Warriors on January 21.