Men's Basketball | 1/25/2019 10:03:00 AM

GAME COVERAGE
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GAME NOTES (PDF)

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

THE MATCHUP
• The Bloomsburg University men's basketball team looks to snap a four-game losing skid when it heads to Mansfield University on Saturday afternoon. The Huskies are two-and-a-half games out of the final playoff spot in the PSAC Eastern Division while the Mountaineers are looking for their first conference win of the season in an attempt to snap a 13-game losing streak.

THE SERIES
• Bloomsburg leads the all-time series against Mansfield, 106-76. Last season, the teams split two meetings with each team winning a close contest on the road. The Mountaineers defeated the Huskies, 92-85, in Bloomsburg on January 20, before the Huskies returned the favor by earning a 74-73 win in Mansfield on February 21. Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) scored 32 points in the road victory.

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
• Redshirt junior Sam Saxton (York, Pa./Central York) scored 20 points and tied a career-high with nine rebounds but it wasn't enough as Bloomsburg suffered its fourth consecutive loss with a 78-74 setback against visiting Seton Hill at the Nelson Field House on Wednesday night. Saxton was an efficient 8-of-11 from the field - including 2-of-3 from long range - and was a perfect 2-of-2 from the foul line en route to his second career 20-point effort. Meanwhile, freshman Sekou Fofana (Upper Darby, Pa./Springfield Commonwealth) continued to impress off the bench as he poured in a career-high 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds in 22 minutes. Sophomore Nicholas King (Easton, Pa./Freedom) was also in double figures as he finished with 10 points in his first start since December 19. Freshman Travis Elmore (Tobyhanna, Pa./Pocono Mountain West) failed to reach double figures for just the second time this season as he finished with nine points and seven rebounds.

• Bloomsburg features a pair of talented freshmen this season in Elmore and Fofana. Elmore is second on the team in scoring (14.4 ppg) and is sixth in the PSAC in field goal percentage (53.9%). He also leads the team - tied for tenth in the PSAC - in rebounding (7.6). Elmore reached double figures in scoring in his first 13 games this season and in 14 of his first 16 collegiate contests. Fofana, meanwhile, has been seeing more playing time as of late but still averages only 16.5 minutes off the bench. Fofana posts 8.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game and has reached double figures in scoring in seven of his last ten games. Those figures translate to 20.6 points and 10.5 rebounds per 40 minutes.

• Saxton along with sophomores King and Ethan Houston (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle) have also proved capable of provide some offensive spark for the Huskies. Saxton is averaging career-highs in both points (9.8 ppg) and rebounding (4.7 rpg) and is second on the team in assists with 35. King is coming off of back-to-back double-digit scoring efforts and is chipping in 5.9 points per contest. Houston is at 5.1 points and 3.8 rebounds but has had four double-digit efforts this season including his first career double-double at California (17 pts, 12 reb) on December 18.

• The Huskies are 10th in the PSAC in scoring offense (73.8) but are last in scoring defense (86.1). Shooting and turnovers have been an issue for Bloomsburg this season as it ranks 16th in turnover margin (-4.8), 14th in field goal percentage (42.8%), and last in the PSAC in both three-point percentage (27.7%) and free throw percentage (62.3%). Bloomsburg's rebounding is 11th in the league at +1.0.

• Bloomsburg has made at least one three-pointer in 224 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. The Huskies are, however, 15th in the PSAC this season in three-pointers made per game (5.5) and are last in the league in three-point percentage (27.7%). Bloomsburg has hit 10 three-pointers in a game only twice this season and has hit as few as three in a game six times including Wednesday's loss to Seton Hill.

SCOUTING MANSFIELD
• Mansfield enters the contest with a 1-16 overall record and is looking for its first PSAC victory of the season (0-12). The Mountaineers have dropped 13 consecutive games since their only win of the year - an 83-78 victory over Salem on November 28. Mansfield, most recently, suffered a 91-65 loss at Shippensburg on Wednesday night. Tyler Moffe led the Mountaineers with 17 points.

• Moffe paces the team in scoring at 16.7 points per contest which has him tied for 16th in the PSAC. He is second on the team in assists (47) and steals (17) and ranks third in rebounding (4.8 rpg) and three-pointers (30). Taylor Sweeney posts 14.2 points per game and leads the team in rebounding (5.9). Garrett Cook is the team's main deep threat as he shoots 45.3% from long range while leading the team with 53 made triples. He is second in the PSAC in three-point percentage and averages 10.6 points per game.  
 
• Mansfield is 16th in the league in scoring offense (68.3) and 16th in scoring defense (83.1). Its scoring margin is last in the conference at -14.8. Rebounding has been a major problem area for the Mountaineers as they rank last in the PSAC in rebounds per game (30.5), rebounds allowed per game (42.1), and rebounding margin (-11.6). Mansfield is also -2.1 in turnover margin which places it 13th in the conference.

UP NEXT
• Bloomsburg will be back on the road on Wednesday, January 30, when it travels to division-leading Shippensburg University. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.

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