FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Mountie Men Host Bloomsburg in Key PSAC East Matchup on YMCA Night this Wednesday

MANSFIELD – The Mansfield University men's basketball team will host the Huskies of Bloomsburg University in a key PSAC East contest this Wednesday night on First Citizens Community Bank Court in Decker Gymnasium.

Wednesday's game is part of YMCA Night at Decker with free tickets available at the Tioga Country YMCA located next the Mansfield High School. Tip-off for the women's game is set for 5:30 p.m. with the men's game scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. start.

Fans unable to attend the game can still follow all the action on-line with a live audio broadcast by Doug Page of ESPN Radio Williamsport. You can find a link to the broadcast, along with a link for live stats, at GoMounties.com.

The game marks the first meeting between the two programs this season and could have major consequences for a PSAC playoff berth down the road.

Mansfield fell out of third place in the PSAC East with a disappointing 75-71 setback at Shippensburg on Saturday while Bloomsburg jumped back into the race with a 73-71 win over West Chester.

Mansfield is currently tied for sixth place in the PSAC East, one spot above Bloomsburg, with a 4-7 conference mark. Shippensburg, Lock Haven, Millersville and Mansfield all have four PSAC wins on the year while Bloomsburg has three. The top six teams at the end of the regular season advance to the PSAC playoffs.

The Mountaineers have two of the best players in the PSAC in senior Joe Bell and Charles Pemberton. Bell, who became just the third player in school history to surpass the 1700 milestone in career points with a 19 point performance at Shippensburg, currently ranks 8th in the PSAC in scoring averaging 14.9 points per game. Bell now has 1703 career points and trails just Brett Longpre` (1765) and Tommy Harvey (1778) on the all-time scoring list.

Pemberton is the most accurate shooter in the PSAC hitting a remarkable 66.4% of his attempts from the floor and ranks 10th in the conference in scoring (14.7 ppg) and 7th in rebounding (7.4 rpg). The Mountaineers recently got a big boost with the return of junior point guard Thomas Moore.

Since returning to the starting four games ago after missing eight games with an injury, Moore has been a key offensive threat averaging a team-high 19.0 points per game and dishing out 17 assists over that span.

Bloomsburg won its first six games of the seven before losing seven straight. The Huskies broke that slide with the win over West Chester on Saturday. Bloomsburg ranks second in the PSAC East in scoring averaging 76.0 points per game. The Huskies have a well-balanced attack led by junior Charles Haigler who averages 12.8 points per game. Seniors Jon Riles and Alssene Saintlus average 12.8 and 12.6 points a game respectively.