Box Score

LAKELAND, Fla. - East Stroudsburg University led St. Joseph's (Ind.) 38-23 early in the second half, but the Pumas rallied to pull out an 80-71 win on the second day of The Ledger/Holiday Inn South Classic in men's basketball on Tuesday night at Florida Southern.

St. Joseph's (7-3) beat No. 2-ranked USC-Aiken 77-66 on Monday night and also owns a 19-point win over No. 12 Kentucky Wesleyan earlier this season. ESU falls to 6-3 and was on the short end of a 91-74 score against host Florida Southern on Monday.

Senior forward Chris Bach had 28 points to match his career-high and posted 10 rebounds and three blocks to lead the Warriors, while senior guard Dawud Lyons added 12 points and senior guard Pat Fleury had 11. Bach notched his second double-double of the season and his 10th career game with at least 20 points.

Brandon Mayse had 23 points and 14 boards for the Pumas and four other players were in double figures. A.J. Mahar and Will Jones scored 12 points each, Austin Peebles had 11 and Andrew Helmer added 10.

Bach scored 12 points in the first 10 minutes of the first half to help ESU build a 14-10 advantage, and a three-pointer by junior guard Darnell Moore and a jumper by Fleury extended the lead to 19-10.

St. Joseph's scored the next eight points before a 13-3 run by the Warriors pushed the margin to double figures late in the half. Bach had 16 points and seven rebounds while hitting 7-of-8 shots from the floor in the first 20 minutes.

ESU started the second half with six straight points to open a 15-point lead with 18:30 to play, but the Pumas chipped away and pulled within five points over the next five minutes. A three-pointer by Peebles tied the game at 46-all with 11:21 left, and neither team led by more than one possession until the 6-minute mark.

St. Joseph's pulled away from a 64-61 lead over the final 3:21, using a 9-0 spurt capped by a three-pointer from Helmer to secure a 12-point advantage with less than two minutes to go.

The Warriors return to Pennsylvania on Wednesday and will head to west this weekend for their only PSAC crossover trip of the season with games at Clarion on Saturday and Gannon on Sunday.