The Bloomsburg University men’s basketball team will tip off the 2019-20 season this upcoming weekend at the Glenville State Tip-Off Classic held in Glenville, West Virginia. The Huskies will square off against Glenville State on Saturday and Fayetteville State on Sunday to kick off the season.
The Huskies struggled last season, finishing with a 7-19 overall record with just two of the wins coming over Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) opponents. It marked the first time the Huskies failed to reach the postseason since the 2014-15 season.
Headlining the returning players for Bloomsburg this year will be senior guard Ky Mauras, sophomore forward Travis Elmore, and senior guard Sam Saxton.
Mauras averaged 18.3 points per game a season ago after missing the final 14 games of the year. Mauras still managed to finish third on the team in total assists with 53.
Elmore is coming off a sensational freshman year campaign as the forward averaged 15.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. He led the Huskies in scoring ten times throughout the year and led in rebounding eight times. His 57.0% shooting from the field ranked third in the PSAC.Saxton is coming off his best season in a Huskies uniform, averaging 9.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game – which were all career highs.
Other notable returners to provide depth and compete for starting roles for the Huskies this year include sophomore William Melson, who averaged 3.6 points per game and 2.2 assists per game, and Redshirt junior Peyton Mortellite, who averaged 7.7 points per game and buried 35 threes pointers throughout the 2018-19 season.
Mortellite’s touch from three will be needed if Bloomsburg will turn things around this season.
Redshirt junior Max Wagner missed all of last season after transferring from Kutztown and should compete for a starting role at the power forward/center position.
Head Coach John Sanow was busy this offseason in the recuiting category as the 14-year leader managed to add a total of six newcomers to this seasons roster.
Justin Anderson, a 6’3’’ gard from Archbishop Carrol High School scored 1,000 career points throughout his four years of high school basketball.
Michael Bednarczyk, a 6’7’’ forward from Baldwinsville, New York played his last two seasons at Onondaga Community College and will enter his career at BU as a junior.
Tariq Kalim, a 6’5’’ guard from Chater Spings, PA. Kalim scored over 500 points in his senior yeah of high school alone.
Jake Nelson, a 6’7’’ forward from West Chester, PA. Nelson graduated high school as the basketball programs all-time leading scorer with 1,442 career points.
Justin Rodriguez, a six 6’0’’ guard from Easton, PA. Finished his high school career as the programs all-time leader in steals and assists, aling with 1,652 career points.
Maqi Watson, a 6’9’’ forward from Philadelphia, PA. Nelson played two years at Beaver Community College and one year at Clarion, and will start his career at Bloomsburg as a junior.