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BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - One of the biggest questions during the offseason for the Bloomsburg University men's basketball team was to determine who would provide the offense following the loss of Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton), the program's all-time leading scorer. On Saturday afternoon, junior Ky Mauras (Reading, Pa./Reading) proved he's capable of shouldering some of that load.

Mauras poured in a career-high 28 points - 21 of which came in the second half and overtime - to lift the Huskies to an 80-79 overtime victory over visiting Georgian Court University at the Nelson Field House in the season opener. The Lions, who had three games under their belts prior to Saturday, dropped to 0-4 on the season.

The junior point guard also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out five assists in a team-high 38 minutes. Freshman Travis Elmore (Tobyhanna, Pa./Pocono Mountain West) had a solid debut for the Huskies as he also finished in double figures after scoring ten points and grabbing four rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench. Sophomore Nicholas King (Easton, Pa./Freedom) and Ethan Houston (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle) chipped in with nine points apiece while redshirt senior Darius Robinson-Wallace (Philadelphia, Pa./Delaware Valley Charter) had eight points and a team-high eight rebounds in the victory.

Bloomsburg trailed by two, 67-65, with 34 seconds left in regulation before Mauras drove to the basket and completed an old-fashioned three-point play to give the Huskies a 68-67 advantage. Georgian Court's Caleb Bowser, who played all 45 minutes and scored 28 points, gave the Lions a one-point lead at 69-68 on a layup just seven seconds later. Houston missed a triple on the Huskies' possession and a long rebound went out-of-bounds at the other end of the court - last touched by Bloomsburg - to give the Lions the ball with five seconds left. Junior Austin Harriott (Philadelphia, Pa./Hun School), however, stole the in-bounds pass and drove down the floor drawing a foul on a layup attempt with 1.3 seconds remaining. Harriott made the first foul shot to tie the game at 69-69 but missed the second to send the game to overtime.

Harriott finished with seven points, six rebounds, two assists, and a game-high three steals.

In overtime, after the teams traded baskets, Mauras knocked down his only three-pointer of the game to give the Huskies a 74-71 lead - a lead they would never relinquish. Georgian Court cut the lead to one on three separate occasions but the Huskies would answer at the other end each time. Elmore had a big layup with 39 seconds left to bring the lead back up to three then, after a pair of foul shots by Georgian Court's Kim Speller, Mauras hit a pair at the other end to give the Huskies an 80-77 lead with 18 seconds left. Bowser had a good look at a potential game-tying three-pointer but came up short with teammate Justin Figueroa knocking down a put-back with just under a second left - not enough time for the Lions to foul again and the Huskies escaped with the one-point victory.

Georgian Court led by as many as ten points, 26-16, in the first half before the Huskies went on a 15-2 run over the final four minutes to take a 31-28 lead at halftime. Mauras had all seven of his first-half points during the run while Houston hit a triple and Elmore had a layup to assist in the scoring. Redshirt sophomore Peyton Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) snapped a 28-28 tie with a three-pointer with 13 seconds left in the opening half to give the Huskies the three-point edge at the break.

The Huskies were 30-of-66 (45.5%) from the field but hit only 4-of-24 (16.7%) from beyond the arc. Mauras finished the day 11-of-20 shooting but was just 1-of-6 from deep. Bloomsburg was just 16-of-25 (64.0%) from the foul line on the afternoon. Georgian Court, meanwhile, was 29-of-66 (43.9%) from the floor and fared much better - 8-of-21 (38.1%) - from long range. It too, however, struggled from the line after going 13-of-20 (65.0%) on the day.

Bloomsburg held a 43-37 edge on the glass and committed two less turnovers (18-16) than the Lions. Bowser had 28 points to lead three Lions in double figures. Speller finished with 17 points while Figueroa added 12 in 25 minutes off the bench.

Bloomsburg will play its first road contest of the season on Tuesday, November 20, when it heads to Holy Family University. Start time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

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