PSAC Men's Basketball Athletes of the Week - 11
Men's Basketball: Eastern Division Athlete of the Week
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Christian Mortellite
Bllomsburg (So. / G/F)
Hammonton, N.J. / Hammonton
Mortellite averaged 23.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 2.0 steals in leading the Bloomsburg men's basketball team to a pair of victories against Shippensburg and East Stroudsburg - two teams that, at the time, the Huskies were trying to catch in the PSAC East standings. After not recording a double-double in his first 42 collegiate games, Mortellite had back-to-back double-doubles this past week. Against Shippensburg on Wednesday, Mortellite had 20 points and a career-high 12 rebounds and then followed that up with 26 points and 11 rebounds in Bloomsburg's come-from-behind win at East Stroudsburg on Saturday. He added four assists, two steals, and went 8-for-8 from the line in the win over the Warriors. The two 20-point outputs were the 10th and 11th such games for Mortellite this season. He is fifth in the PSAC (first in the East) in scoring at 19.3 points per game.
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Men's Basketball: Eastern Division Freshman of the Week
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Anthony Lee
Kutztown (Fr. / Guard)
Willow Grove, Pa. / Abington
Lee averaged 21 points last week while shooting 50 percent from the field and making 15-of-17 free throws as Kutztown went 2-0 and moved into second place in the division. Lee has posted his best games of the year against Kutztown's best competition. On Jan. 16 at East Stroudsburg, he scored a season-high 28 points. Against West Chester on Wednesday, Lee stepped up with 23 points on 7-for-12 shooting, including a perfect 8-for-8 at the free throw line. He grabbed seven rebounds and added three assists. Against Millersville on Saturday, he put together another solid outing as he contributed 19 points, four rebounds and two steals. Lee now leads the East in free throw percentage at 89.4 percent, second in Kutztown single-season history, and over the last five games, has made 36-of-41.
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Men's Basketball: Western Division Co-Athlete of the Week
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Brandon Norfleet
IUP (Sr. / Guard)
Virginia Beach, Va.
Norfleet extended his current streak to six straight 20-point games with two this week. He now has 14 20-point games on the year. Norfleet recorded 25 points, six rebounds, five assists, two blocks in the NCAA DII Game of the Week that was streamed on ESPN3. It was his second 0 turnover game of season (vs. Cal) Norfleet recorded a career-high two blocks vs. Cal.
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Men's Basketball: Western Division Co-Athlete of the Week
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Malcolm Richardson
Slippery Rock (Sr. / Guard)
Lansdowne, Pa. / Penn Wood
Richardson led Slippery Rock to a convincing 10-point win on the road over then first place Mercyhurst in Slippery Rock's only game of the week last week. The Rock completed the season sweep over the Lakers in part thanks to Richardson's game-high 25 points. He was 4-of-7 from 3-point and also grabbed five rebounds, handed out two assists and blocked one shot. The win for the first for SRU at Mercyhurst since 2011.
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Men's Basketball: Western Division Freshman of the Week
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Olando King Jr.
Pitt-Johnstown (Fr. / Guard)
Dallas, Texas / South Oak Cliff
In two PSAC wins this week, King averaged 8.5 points, earning key victories over Clarion and Seton Hill. In just 19 minutes against the Griffins, Kings scored 10 points, going 5-for-7 from the floor. He also collected four rebounds and had a steal and an assist. He had seven rebounds, two steals, and two assists in the UPJ win over Clarion. King also shot 50% from the field in UPJ's non-conference win against Carlow. |
Team Notes
Bloomsburg
Predicted to finish seventh in the PSAC East, Bloomsburg is currently on a five-game winning streak and finds itself two games out of first place after earning victories over Shippensburg last Wednesday and at East Stroudsburg on Saturday. The five-game winning streak is the longest since opening the 2014-15 season with a 6-0 record – the Huskies, however, went on to win only four of their final 20 games last season. After not recording a double-double in his first 42 collegiate games, redshirt sophomore
Christian Mortellite had back-to-back double-doubles in the victories. He had 20 points and a career-high 12 rebounds in the win over Shippensburg and then recorded 26 points and 11 boards in the victory at East Stroudsburg. Mortellite is fifth in the PSAC, and first in the East, in scoring at 19.3 points per game. The 20-point games were the 10th and 11th such outputs of the season for Mortellite. On Saturday, Bloomsburg trailed 24-6 in the first half before rallying for a 91-84 victory. Junior
Donell Diggs scored a career-high 22 points in the victory, while senior
Charles Haigler had 14 points to move him to within 105 of reaching 1,000 for his career. The win on Saturday snapped East Stroudsburg’s nine-game winning streak and marked the first time in eight tries that the Huskies had defeated the Warriors. Bloomsburg’s last victory over ESU, prior to Saturday, was an 80-78 win on February 22, 2012 at Nelson Field House. Bloomsburg will host West Chester in a PSAC East showdown on Wednesday before traveling to Mansfield on Saturday.
California
The Vulcans lost to both IUP and Clarion last week to extend their losing streak to four games. Since winning back-to-back games in early December, Cal U has lost 10 of its last 13 games with only one conference win during that span. Sophomore
Luka Andjusic is averaging 15.0 points over the last five games while shooting 63.6 percent (21-of-33) from beyond the arc during that span. Senior
Richard Smith boasts a .557 field-goal percentage this year, which would rank third in the PSAC if he met the 5.0 FGM/game minimum (4.64). Smith is shooting almost 60 percent from the floor over the last 12 games, while averaging 14.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.1 blocks per game
Cheyney
Cheyney went 0-1 this week, falling to Mansfield
Clarion
Clarion went 1-2 this week, defeating California and falling to Seton Hill and Pitt-Johnstown
East Stroudsburg
ESU went 1-1 this week, defeating Millersville and falling to Bloomsburg
Edinboro
The Edinboro University men’s basketball team split a pair of games this week against local rivals. The Fighting Scots won at Gannon on Wednesday, 74-61, to complete their first season sweep of the Golden Knights since 2010-11. They then lost to Mercyhurst on Saturday, 72-47, and now stand in third place in the PSAC West at 12-7 overall and 11-5 in the PSAC.
Henri Wade-Chatman tallied 17 markers at Gannon and a team-high 19 points against Mercyhurst to move into 14
th place on Edinboro’s all-time career scoring list with 1,251 points. Backcourt mate
Jaymon Mason scored 20 of his game-high 29 points at Gannon in the second half, falling one point shy of his fourth 30-point game of the season.
Je’Land Head did not get off the bench in the first half at Gannon, but played all 20 minutes in the second half and did not miss a shot while scoring a career-high 14 points. Mercyhurst held the Fighting Scots to a season-low 47 points. Edinboro has a key stretch of three straight road games coming up, playing at Slippery Rock, Indiana (Pa.), and Pitt-Johnstown.
Gannon
Gannon dropped a pair of games last week to rival Edinboro (74-61) and Indiana (Pa.) (79-67). The Golden Knights held a 28-27 halftime lead against Edinboro, before dropping their fifth game of the season when leading at the break. Gannon out-rebounded Edinboro 35-30, extending its streak of winning the rebounding war to six games. Edinboro’s victory was its 14th in 51 attempts at the Hammermill Center. Senior
Jean Yves Toupane reached double digits in scoring during both games last week, giving him 14 double-digit performances this season. Gannon’s setback at IUP dropped the team to 0-8 on the road.
IUP
The Crimson Hawks extended their win streak to 10 straight games with a pair of wins over California (85-60) and Gannon (79-67) last week. They're now 16-5 overall and their 13-3 league record is good for a one-game lead in the PSAC West. Senior guard
Brandon Norfleet averaged 23.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in the two wins, also shooting 45.0 percent from the field, 40.0 percent from three-point range, and 87.5 perfect from the foul line. IUP has a big test ahead, hosting the second and third-ranked teams in the division with Mercyhurst (15-5, 12-4) coming to town on Wednesday and Edinboro (12-7, 11-5) visiting on Saturday.
Kutztown
Kutztown went 2-0 this week, defeating West Chester and Millersville
Lock Haven
When the Lock Haven University men’s basketball team travels to Kutztown University on Wednesday, the Bald Eagles will be looking to snap a five-game losing streak. After a 9-3 start, LHU now sits at .500 on the season with a 10-10 overall record. Lock Haven is 6-10 in PSAC play and currently sits in sixth in the PSAC East standings. LHU saw action only once last week and lost a tough one at Mansfield, 75-74.
Bootsie Walker leads Lock Haven in scoring with 12.2 points per game.
Lamin Fulton, who has played the last 10 games (5 starts) is averaging 10.5 and
Brahieme Jackson is contributing 10.2. Jackson leads LHU in rebounding with 6.5 boards per game. On December 16, Kutztown beat Lock Haven 77-76.
Mansfield
Mansfield went 2-0 this week, defeating Cheyney and Lock Haven
Mercyhurst
Mercyhurst split their final two PSAC Western Division games in January, losing at home to Slippery Rock, 64-54, and defeating Edinboro on the road, 72-47. Senior forward
Kayode Ajenifuja led the Lakers this past week, averaging 15 points, 7.5 rebounds, and two assists. The Beltsville, Maryland native scored a game-high 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the floor at Edinboro Saturday, while also pulling down eight rebounds. He recorded 10 points, seven rebounds, and four assists Wednesday against Slippery Rock. Mercyhurst leads the country in the scoring defense, holding opponents to 58.7 points per game.
Millersville
Millersville went 0-2 this week, falling to East Stroudsburg and Kutztown
Pitt-Johnstown
UPJ went 2-0 in PSAC play, defeating Clarion and Seton Hill
Seton Hill
Seton Hill went 1-1 this week, defeating Clarion and falling to Pitt-Johnstown
Shippensburg
SHIP returned to action for the first time in 11 days and dropped road contests at Bloomsburg and West Chester, snapping a seven-game winning streak. Sophomore
Dustin Sleva leads the league in rebounding (11.6).
Slippery Rock
SRU won three of its last four games entering the bye last Saturday and has positioned itself in the middle of the playoff race thanks to completing a season sweep over Mercyhurst. The Rock's 64-54 win in Erie last week was their first on the road at Mercyhurst in the last six tries dating back to the playoffs in 2011.
Malcolm Richardson netted a game-high 25 points in that effort.
Abdul King has come on strong lately with career-highs in three straight games, including a 14-point showing in the win over Mercyhurst.
West Chester
WCU went 1-1 this week, falling to Kutztown and defeating Shippensburg