FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Bell Passes 1500 Point Milestone in 75-65 win over Cheyney

MANSFIELD – Joe Bell scored a game-high 23 points to become just the fifth player in school history to surpass the 1,500 career point milestone to lead Mansfield to a 75-65 win over Cheyney in a PSAC East contest Saturday afternoon at First Citizens Community Bank Court at Decker Gymnasium.

"You hope a win like that is a confidence builder," said head coach Rich Miller who celebrated his 40th birthday with his 121st coaching victory. "We got off to a good start and that's something we haven't done in the last four games. You get off to a good start and it changes the whole tone of things."

The Mountaineers started fast taking a 9-6 lead on a 3-pointer by freshman Thomas Moore three minutes into the game and extended their lead to 20-10 on a layup by Bell five minutes later.

Mansfield held Cheyney scoreless for an eight minute span while going on a 9-0 run, taking a 29-10 advantage on a layup by Andreas Katopodis with five minutes remaining in the first half.

The Mountaineers, who struggled from the free throw line and three-point line in a tough road loss at Kutztown on Wednesday, hit 60% of their shots from the floor and went 5-6 from the free throw line in building 38-22 lead.

Bell's layup a minute the second half extended the advantage to what would prove a game-high 20 points at 42-22.

Mansfield held a 51-34 lead on a 3-pointer by Kamil Parzych with 13 minutes to play before Cheyney countered with a 8-0 run to close to 51-42 midway through the half.

Mansfield responded with an 8-0 run to increase the lead to 59-42 with nine minutes to go.

Cheyney (1-3, 0-2 PSAC East) refused to go away, cutting the lead to 62-53 on a pair of free throws by Darryl Bryant with just over five minutes to play and pulled to 72-65 with 28 seconds left before Mansfield hit three out of four free throws to put the game on ice.

Bell was exceptional, scoring 13 of his game-high 23 points in the first half to surpass the legendary Yuseff Carr (1,497 points, 2007-2011) for fifth place overall in career scoring. Bell also became just the fifth player in school history to surpass the 1,500 point mark and now has 1,514 points in his career.

Freshman Thomas Moore had the best game of his young collegiate career scoring 15 points while hitting 5-of-6 of his shots from the floor including 2-2 from beyond the 3-point arch. Moore also dished out a game-high five assists and recorded two steals.

 Senior Charles Pemberton just missed a double-double scoring 11 points and pulling down nine rebounds.

The Mountaineers shut down Cheyney freshman Kevin Larkin who was leading the PSAC in 3-point shooting and averaging 19.0 points per game over the first three games of the season. Larkin led the Wolves with 12 points and went 0-5 in 3-point attempts.

Mansfield improves to 2-1 overall and 1-1 in PSAC East play.

The Mountaineer host Le Moyne on Tuesday in a non-conference game starting at 7:30 p.m. at First Citizens Community Bank Court in Decker Gymnasium.