Box Score

LAKELAND, Fla. - Florida Southern saw East Stroudsburg University cut a 25-point halftime lead to single digits with less than eight minutes to go before the host Moccasins put away the Warriors for a 91-74 win in the The Ledger/Holiday Inn South Classic on Monday night at Jenkins Fieldhouse.

Senior forward Chris Bach had 18 points and nine rebounds to lead four Warriors in double figures. Senior guard Pat Fleury (14 points) and senior forward Aaron Pinckney (12) both had season-highs, while sophomore guard Mike DeMarco added 13 points and was 3-for-6 from the three-point line.

Fleury (6 assists, 2 turnovers) and junior Robby Pines (5 assists, 0 turnovers) continue to run the team at a high level, with Pines sporting an assist-to-turnover ratio of nearly 5-1 (36/8) and Fleury checking in with a ratio of 2.5-1 (35/14).

Preston Frederick (22 points, 11-of-15 shooting), Rob Eldridge (21 points) and Brandon Jenkins (13 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists) led Florida Southern, which improves to 9-4 and has been ranked as high as No. 3 in Division II this season. The Moccasins led 23-18 following a DeMarco three-pointer midway through the opening period before pulling away for a 54-29 halftime lead.

The Warriors managed to cut the deficit to 10 (60-50) at the 13-minute mark of the second half, using a 18-2 spurt sparked by an 8-of-9 effort from the field. Florida Southern bumped the lead back to 19, but once again ESU responded with a big run, rattling off 10 straight points, and Pinckney's three-pointer made it a nine-point game with 7:23 remaining.

The Moccasins came back with the next eight points following a timeout, and ESU was unable to put together another run to give itself a chance at the end.

The Warriors will take on St. Joseph's (Ind.) on Tuesday at 5:15 p.m. St. Joseph's dealt USC Aiken its first loss of the season, a 77-66 setback, on Monday night.