Lions bounced by Bloomsburg at Nelson Field House 78-48

Bloomsburg, Pa. - Bloomsburg University forced the Nittany Lions into 29 turnovers on this Friday the 13th, leading to 33 points off miscues as they downed Hazleton in their season opener by a score of 78-48. The Huskies size and athleticism proved too much for the Lions as they dominated the paint and issued Hazleton their third straight loss on the young season.

First Half:

The Nittany Lions only lead came on the first basket of play by sophomore Jordan Singletary (Houston, Tx.) one minute into the ball game. Royce Brathwaite (Pocono Summit, Pa.) scored 12 points in the half on four of five shooting from the field to help Hazleton keep pace with the Huskies, but a 17-4 run by Bloosmburg with 13:49 remaining in the period gave the Huskies command of the contest. Bloomsburg's Charles Haigler poured in 15 of his team-high 20 points in the first half as the Huskies opened up a 13 point advantage at the midway point.

Second Half: The Huskies increased their lead to 24 points with a 15-4 run to begin the second half and continued to hound Hazleton into 12 second half turnovers. The Huskie bench added 24 of the team's 39 second half points as Bloomsburg expanded their cushion to as many as 31 points before the final horn sealed the loss for Hazleton at 78-48.

Top Performers:

Three Huskies joined Haigler in double digits, including Wes Lyons' 14 point, five rebound performance. Christian Mortellite went three for four from long distance to cap an 11 point output while teammate Alex Prislubsky added 10 points off the bench. Former Hazleton standout, Ashkan Naderi dished out five assists to lead Bloomsburg over his former squad.

Brathwaite led all scorers in the contest with 23 points for the Lions on Friday, shooting 80 percent from field with four of five scores from beyond the arc. The sophomore added four assists, but eight turnovers on the floor spoiled an otherwise brilliant performance. Singletary corralled a game-high 13 rebounds to go along with six points and freshman Brian Miller (Barnesville, Pa.) added a season high 10 points on four of seven shooting.

Next up: The Nittany Lions kick-off their first homestand of the year as they continue their early season non-conference schedule. Hazleton meets up with NCAA division three opponent King's College on Monday, November 16 at 7:00 p.m. in the Thomas M. Caccese Gymnasium.