Men's Basketball | 2/17/2017 4:27:00 PM

BLOOMSBURG (14-9, 10-9 PSAC East) at EAST STROUDSBURG (16-8, 14-5 PSAC East)
Saturday, February 18, 2017 - 3:00 p.m.
East Stroudsburg, Pa. | Koehler Fieldhouse

GAME NOTES:
Bloomsburg at East Stroudsburg Game Notes

GAME COVERAGE:
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/esu/mbball/
Live Audio (WHLM): http://www.whlm.com
Live Video: http://esuwarriors.com/watch/?Live=114

RELATED LINKS:
Bloomsburg - Roster | Schedule | Statistics
East Stroudsburg - Roster | Schedule | Statistics

LAST TIME OUT ...
Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) poured in a career-high 39 points and connected on a career-best nine three-pointers to lift the shorthanded Huskies to an 81-77 win at Mansfield on Wednesday night. Bloomsburg had only seven players dress but Mortellite came through in a big way as he hit 13-of-20 from the field and 9-of-15 from three-point range. The Huskies trailed 77-71 with 1:56 left but scored the final ten points to earn the come-from-behind victory. Carnell McGirt, who hit two free throws with 58 seconds left to give the Huskies the lead, finished with 14 points. Yahmir Greenlee added nine points in the win. Jordan Melochick had a career-high six points while Sam Saxton (York, Pa./Central York) finished with a career-high six assists.

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 eighth place on the school's all-time list with 1,413 career points. He scored a career-high 39 points on Wednesday and now needs 17 points to tie Lee Gump (1992-96) for seventh place. He has scored at least 20 points in 20 of the 23 games this season and has 40 career 20-point efforts in 75 collegiate games. He has hit double figures in 59 of his last 61 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 since his return. 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 13 of his 14 games and is averaging 16.1 points and 3.6 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 11th in the country in free throw percentage (78.3%) and 14th in blocks per game (4.9) while ranking 22nd in the nation in three-point percentage (40.7%). Mortellite, meanwhile, leads the country in three-pointers per game (4.26). He is also third in the nation in total threes (98), seventh in points per game (23.6), 18th in free-throw percentage (89.6%), and 25th in three-point percentage (46.0%).

4 - Mortellite broke one school record against West Chester on February 1 - most three-pointers in a single-season on the men's side - and then broke the Bloomsburg record for threes in a season with 98 after making nine on Wednesday at Mansfield (Dana Wieller held the Bloomsburg record, men or women, for threes in a year with 97 during the 2011-12 season). He has a chance for several more records by season's end. In terms of scoring, Mike Ellzy holds the school-record for points in a season with 600 - Mortellite is at 542. Ellzy also holds the school-record for most three-point attempts in a season with 227 - Mortellite is at 213. Aaron Carter holds the program record for most free throws made in a season with 143 - Mortellite is at 112. Finally, in terms of career records, Lorenzo Christmas holds the school record for career triples with 237 - Mortellite enters Saturday's game with 215.

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 East Stroudsburg, 91-75.

LAST MEETING AGAINST EAST STROUDSBURG ...
East Stroudsburg jumped out to a 50-42 lead at halftime and never trailed in the second half as the Warriors knocked off the Huskies, 99-85, at the Nelson Field House on January 21. Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) scored a game-high 26 points in a losing effort. Carnell McGirt added 19 points while Yahmir Greenlee chipped in with 16. East Stroudsburg shot 52.9% from the field and was led in scoring by Quindell Brice who finished with 19 points on 8-of-8 from the floor. Rasheed Moore and 16 points and eight rebounds in the win.

SCOUTING THE WARRIORS ...
The Warriors are tenth in the initial Division II Atlantic Region rankings as they come in with a record of 16-8 overall and 14-5 in the PSAC East. East Stroudsburg has lost two straight, however, and has allowed an average of 98 points in the two-game losing skid. The Warriors are second in the PSAC in scoring offense (89.5) and tied for ninth, with Bloomsburg, in scoring defense (75.0). The team is sixth in rebounding margin and it leads the conference in turnover margin (+5.17). Rasheed Moore leads the team in scoring as he averages 17.7 points per game (seventh in the PSAC). He is also tops on the team in rebounding at 6.6 boards per contest - good for 12th in the PSAC. He has moved into fourth place on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,561 points and he is fifth in career rebounds (729). Kitt Najee Walls leads the team in assists (3.9) while averaging 9.8 points per game.

NIGHT FOR THE AGES ...
Redshirt junior Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) scored a career-high 39 points and hit a career-high nine three-pointers in the Huskies' 81-77 win at Mansfield. He finished one three-pointer shy of the single-game record of 10 set by Jay DeShields during the 1999-2000 season. His 39 points marked the most by a Bloomsburg player since Al Williams scored 40 against Mansfield on February 25, 1978. He had 15 points at halftime and then scored 24 of Bloomsburg's 40 second-half points in the win.

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 at Millersville  on Wednesday, February 8, 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.

TWO RECORDS 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, on the men's side, for three-pointers with 83. Jay DeShields held the previous record of 82 during the 2001-02 season. With his nine triples on Wednesday, he now has 98 for the season, which surpassed Dana Wieller's school-record (men or women) of 97 she had 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 15 games (seven in a reserve role), McGirt is averaging 14.7 points and 7.3 rebounds. He has hit double figures in 14 of his last 15 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 (1993-97) leading the way with 1,911 career points. Mortellite now has 1,413 points in his Huskies' career - eighth on the school's all-time list. He needs 17 points to tie Lee Gump (1992-96) for seventh. Mortellite is also climbing the school's all-time list for career three-pointers. Mortellite now has 215 three-pointers for his career - third on the all-time list. He is 10 behind Ellzy for second.

NOT FOUL AT THE LINE ...
Bloomsburg has been impressive from the charity stripe this season as it ranks third in the PSAC, and 11th in the country, in free-throw percentage (78.3%). Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) (89.6%) and senior Donell Diggs (88.3%) are second and third in the league, respectively, in accuracy. Mortellite is 18th in the country while Diggs is 25th. Junior Carnell McGirt (80.6%) is 12th 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 23 games (tied in two) and have scored more points from the line in 19 of the 23 contests (tied in one). Bloomsburg is +103 from the free-throw line this season.

DOWNTOWN WITH THE HUSKIES ...
The Huskies have made at least one three-pointer in 177 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 eight 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, meanwhile, leads the country in threes-per-game (4.26) and is third in the country in total three-pointers (98).

UP NEXT ...
Bloomsburg returns home on Wednesday, February 22, to host Kutztown at 7:30 p.m. The Huskies suffered a 98-92 loss at Kutztown on January 18.