BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The Bloomsburg University men's basketball team found itself in an up-tempo game full of offense Monday evening against Clarion, but a strong shooting performance by the Golden Eagles in the second half lifted the away team to a 101-90 win over the Huskies at Nelson Field House.
 
Graduate student Peyton Mortelllite led the offensive output for Bloomsburg, scoring a career-high 33 points and converting six shots from beyond the arc. He was joined by two teammates to finish the contest in double figures as senior forward Travis Elmore (Tobyhanna, Pa./Pocono Mountain West) finished with 19 points and Justin Anderson (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) tallied 14. Elmore added five rebounds and Anderson had seven assists. 
 
Sophomore guard Louie Wild (Philadelphia, PA/Roman Catholic) gave Bloomsburg a solid performance by scoring eight points and dishing out six assists in 16 minutes off the bench. Anderson and junior guard Justin Rodriguez (Easton, Pa./Morristown-Beard) tied for a team-high seven assists. 
 
The Huskies took the first lead of the game in the opening minutes, but that would be just the first of eight lead changes in what proved to be a tightly contested opening half. With 2:38 remaining in the first half, Bloomsburg led 31-29 before going on a quick 9-3 run to gain its biggest lead of the half – eight points – after Mortellite knocked down a pair of free throws. A late three pointer by Clarion closed the gap before the half, however, making the score 40-35 at the break.
 
In the second half, Clarion was able to take the lead with 15:32 remaining and the Golden Eagles never looked back, holding onto the advantage for the rest of the game. A strong shooting performance in the final half by Clarion, which included shooting 75.9% from the field and a 6-for-6 shot chart from three-point range, gave the team enough offensive firepower to hold off a strong comeback effort by Bloomsburg, which cut its deficit to just six after Rodriguez made two free throws with 2:20 left. Clarion held on for the win by outscoring the Huskies 12-7 in the final two minutes.  
 
Bloomsburg finished the game shooting 53.1% (34-64) from the field and 36% (9-15) from beyond the arc while Clarion shot 61.7% (37-60) and 50% (9-18) from deep. 
 
The Huskies (3-11, 2-8) will return to action Wednesday with an away contest at Shippensburg University. That game is scheduled to tip off at 8:00 pm.

 
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