GLENVILLE, W.Va. – The Bloomsburg University men's basketball team opened the 2019-20 season at the Glenville State Tip Off Tournament, Saturday afternoon. The Huskies trimmed the lead to eight late in the second half but Glenville held on for a 103-92 win in the opening game of the season for both teams.
 
Freshman Justin Anderson (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) made his debut for the Huskies in an impressive was as led all players with 25 points for the contest. Anderson went 7-for-18 from the field and was 9-for-10 from the free throw line. Redshirt junior Max Wagner (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) also impressed in his Huskie debut as he chipped in 18 points and pulled down a game-high 19 rebounds. Wagner added a block and a steal as well. Junior Ethan Houston (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle) went 5-for-10 from the floor and added 12 points and nine boards for the Huskies. Senior Ky Mauras (Reading, Pa./Reading) led the Huskies with five assists while adding 14 points and four rebounds.
 
As a team, the Huskies shot 47.2% from the floor (34-for-84) and went 20-for-30 from the free throw line. Bloomsburg hit just four of 24 shots from beyond the arc. Glenville State shot nearly 50% from the floor as the Pioneers hit 39 of 79 shots and went 10-for-36 from three-point range. The Pioneers were just 15-for-26 from the free throw line (57.7%).
 
It was all Glenville State in the first half as the Pioneers built an 11 point lead in the first five and half minutes of action. Houston trimmed the lead back down to nine with a pair of good free throws with 14:17 to play in the first and a layup at 12:45 got the Huskies back to within seven, 20-13. Bloomsburg and Glenville State traded the next two buckets until the Pioneers used an 11-3 run to push their lead to 15, 35-20, with 7:51 to play in the first. The Pioneers maintained their double-digit lead for most of the first, leading by as many as 17 (37-20) but the Huskies chipped away. A layup from redshirt junior Peyton Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) cut the deficit down to nine, 39-30, with 3:38 to go.
 
The Pioneers maintained their advantage by at least nine for the rest of the half and used a 15-9 run over the final three minutes of action to take a 54-39 lead into the break.
 
Glenville State hit four free throws and made a layup in the first minute of the second half to push its lead to 21, 60-39. The Pioneers led by as many as 24 points three separate times in the second half, the last with 16:05 to play as Rodney Ray made a pair of free throws. The Huskies continued to chip away, however, and Wagner got Bloomsburg back within 10 with a pair of free throws at the 7:46 mark. Mauras then completed the traditional three-point play after a layup and successful free throw got the Huskies to within nine, 87-78, with 5:49 to play. A layup from Houston trimmed the lead to seven, 87-80, with 5:14 to go and the Huskies kept the gap in the single digits and as close as six, until Phil Bledsoe drained a three to push the Pioneer lead back to 11, 96-85, with 2:17 to play in regulation. Mauras hit the front end of a trip to the free throw line to cut the lead to eight, 98-90, with 1:26 to play but the Pioneers closed out the final minute and a half with a 5-2 run to hang on for the 103-92 win.
 
The Huskies dominated the rebounding battle, 61-43, while the Pioneers won the turnover margin as Bloomsburg committed 17 turnovers to Glenville State's nine. The Pioneers scored 28 for their 102 points off turnovers, while the Huskies had just 11 points from turnovers.

The Pioneers had five players hit double figures including Tyvon Tyler who led the team with 23 points. Bledsoe added 19 while Noah Frampton and Ray each added 17. Steven Verplancken rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points for the Pioneers.
 
The Huskies get right back on the court as they take on Fayetteville State in the second day of the Glenville State Tip Off Tournament. The Huskies and Broncos tip off at 3:00 p.m. in Glenville, W.Va. The Broncos are coming off a 78-63 win over Clarion in their first game of the tournament Saturday evening.