Men's Basketball | 1/29/2019 2:24:00 PM

GAME COVERAGE
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GAME NOTES (PDF)
SHIPPENSBURG GAME NOTES

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

THE MATCHUP
• The Bloomsburg University men's basketball team will be looking to snap a season-long five-game losing skid when it heads to Shippensburg University on Wednesday night. The Huskies are three games out of the final playoff spot in the PSAC Eastern Division while the Raiders, who were bumped from first place in the division on Saturday, are one game out of the top spot in the PSAC East.

THE SERIES
• Bloomsburg leads the all-time series against Shippensburg, 104-71. However, the Raiders have won six straight, and seven of the last eight, against the Huskies. Last season, Shippensburg earned a 75-65 win at the Nelson Field House on January 24 and, exactly one month later, knocked off Bloomsburg 85-74 at Heiges Field House.

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
• Bloomsburg rallied from a 20-point deficit in the final minutes of the second half, but were unable to complete an epic comeback in an 88-80 loss at Mansfield on Saturday. Trailing 73-53 with 11:30 to play in the second half, Bloomsburg went on a furious 27-7 run over the next 10 minutes to draw to an improbable 80-80 tie with the Mountaineers with just 1:03 remaining. However, Mansfield scored the final eight points of the game to pick up its first conference win of the season. Travis Elmore (Tobyhanna, Pa./Pocono Mountain West) finished with a career-high 25 points, on 11-of-15 from the floor, and 10 rebounds. Sekou Fofana (Philadelphia, Pa./West Catholic) was equally as impressive as he posted a career-high 23 points and six rebounds. Nicholas King (Easton, Pa./Freedom) and Peyton Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) added 11 points apiece.

• Bloomsburg features a pair of talented freshmen this season in Elmore and Fofana. Elmore is second on the team in scoring (15.1 ppg) and is fourth in the PSAC in field goal percentage (55.4%). He also leads the team - tied for ninth in the PSAC - in rebounding (7.7). Elmore reached double figures in scoring in his first 13 games this season and in 15 of his first 17 collegiate contests. Fofana, meanwhile, has been seeing more playing time as of late and earned his second collegiate start - while playing all 40 minutes - on Saturday. Fofana posts 9.5 points and 4.4 rebounds per game - in just an average of 18.1 minutes - and has reached double figures in scoring in eight of his last 11 games. Those figures translate to 20.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per 40 minutes.

• Sam Saxton (York, Pa./Central York) averages 9.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game which are both career highs. He is also second on the team with 40 assists. King has rebounded from a slump to reach double figures in each of his last three games. The sophomore averaged 8.3 points over his first six games but then posted just 23 total points over the next eight contests. He is averaging 11.0 points and 2.3 assists over the last three - including two starts. Bloomsburg is also getting solid minutes off the bench from Mortellite who scored a season-high 11 points in a career-high 30 minutes on Saturday. After averaging 1.8 points over his first six games, Mortellite is averaging 6.5 points over his last four.

• The Huskies are 10th in the PSAC in scoring offense (74.2) but are last in scoring defense (86.2). Shooting and turnovers have been an issue for Bloomsburg this season as it ranks 16th in turnover margin (-4.4), 13th in field goal percentage (43.1%), and last in the PSAC in both three-point percentage (28.4%) and free throw percentage (62.5%). Bloomsburg's rebounding is 11th in the league at +1.2.

• Bloomsburg has made at least one three-pointer in 225 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, 14th in the PSAC this season in three-pointers made per game (5.6) and are last in the league in three-point percentage (28.4%). Bloomsburg has hit 10 three-pointers in a game only twice this season.

SCOUTING SHIPPENSBURG
• Shippensburg is coming off of an 87-77 loss at West Chester on Saturday which knocked the Raiders from atop the PSAC East standings. Dom Sleva had 18 points and 12 rebounds  for his second consecutive double-double and third of the season. John Castello finished with 16 points while Jake Biss (12) and Antonio Kellem (11) also finished in double figures.  

• The Raiders feature three players averaging double figures and three more averaging at least 6.5 points per game. Kellem paces Shippensburg at 16.0 points per contest while ranking second on the team in assists (65) and third in rebounding (4.8). Castello posts 15.7 points and a team-high 8.7 rebounds - fifth-most in the conference. Biss is third at 13.1 points per game and leads with 96 assists which puts him in a tie for third in the PSAC in assists per game (4.8). Lamar Talley (8.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg), Manny Span (7.9 ppg, 6.9 rpg) round out the starting five with Sleva (6.6 ppg, 4.7 rpg) a focal point off the bench.  
 
• Shippensburg enters with a 15-5 overall record and a 9-3 mark in the division. The Raiders are 11-1 on their home floor this season as opposed to just 4-4 on the road. Shippensburg is eighth in the PSAC in scoring offense (76.9) but allows only 69.1 points per game to its opponents (fourth). The team leads the PSAC with 186 made three-pointers this season, ranks fourth in free-throw percentage (71.0%), is third in rebounding margin (+6.5), and is sixth in the league in turnover margin (+1.40).

UP NEXT
• Bloomsburg returns to the Nelson Field House on Saturday, February 2, to host PSAC East-leading West Chester University. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.

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