Box Score
EAST STROUDSBURG - Senior forward
Chris Bach scored seven of his 18 points in the final two minutes to give East Stroudsburg University a 75-71 win over Mansfield and deliver the 100th career win for Warriors' head coach
Jeff Wilson on Senior Night at Koehler Fieldhouse.
Junior guard Andy Heimbach added 19 points and was 5-of-9 from the three-point line. Seniors Aaron Pinckney and Pat Fleury were also in double figures with 10 points, and senior Dawud Lyons scored six points for ESU (15-9, 6-5), which won its third straight game and moved into three-way tie for third in the PSAC East.
Bach also had eight rebounds and three blocked shots and was 5-of-9 from the field and 8-of-11 at the foul line for the night. He entered the game tied for fifth in Division II with 138 made free throws and is shooting 81.1 percent this season. Pinckney had seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks in his 26 minutes.
Mansfield (13-10, 6-5) came back from a 10-point halftime deficit to go ahead 66-65 on two free throws by Ryan Callahan (16 points) with 3:04 remaining. Fleury split a pair from the line to tie the game, and Bach gave ESU a two-point edge with a jumper with 2:01 left.
Tony Fannick forced a tie at 68-all with a layup on Mansfield's possession, but Bach hit a long jumper to put the Warriors ahead for good and the Mounties missed four of their last five shots.
Fleury made two free throws to extend the lead to 72-68 with 33 seconds left, and Bach was 3-for-4 in the final half-minute to push the margin to 75-68 with seven straight points. Chris Greene hit a three-pointer for Mansfield with three seconds left to set the final score.
ESU led the entire first half and held a 40-25 advantage after the last of Heimbach's three triples in the opening 20 minutes. The Warriors were up 43-33 at intermission and maintained at least a five-point lead until Callahan's jumper made the score 65-62 with 5:15 to go. Mansfield held its only lead of the game after the second of Callahan's two free throws with 3:04 left before ESU prevailed down the stretch.
Wilson, a 1985 ESU graduate, improves to 100-88 in his seven seasons on the Warriors' bench. He is the fourth ESU head coach to reach the 100-win milestone and the first since Sal Mentesana, who won 133 games from 1987-96. Wilson was an assistant coach under Mentesana at ESU and Lehigh before accepting the head coaching position at his alma mater prior to the 2002-03 season.
Ken Sisson holds the all-time mark with 214 wins (1963-78, 79-83), and Lester Crasper was the first head coach of the program from 1926-39 and guided his teams to a record of 157-78.
ESU will play its final three games on the road as it looks for its fourth straight trip to the PSAC playoffs, which would be a first in program history. The Warriors begin their road trip on Saturday at Cheyney, then travel to Millersville and West Chester next week to close the regular season.
