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Morning Call: Pines' foul shots give ESU OT win

EAST STROUDSBURG – Senior guard Robby Pines made two free throws with five seconds left to lift East Stroudsburg University to a 67-65 overtime win over Mansfield on Wednesday night at Koehler Fieldhouse. The victory gives the No. 22-ranked Warriors (17-1) a share of the lead in the PSAC East with a 4-1 record.

The Warriors and Mounties battled through a one-possession game for the final six minutes of regulation and the entire overtime session before Pines drew a foul on Mansfield center Yuseff Carr and stepped up to knock down both free throws with the game on the line. Mansfield managed a three-pointer from the right wing by Chris Pender, but the shot wouldn't go down and ESU won in overtime for the second time in three games.

Freshman forward Terrance King scored all six of the Warriors' points in overtime before Pines' free throws and finished with a team-high 13 points and six rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Junior forward Mike Tobin and junior guard Micah Covert added 11 points each, with Covert also registering a career-high six assists.

Pines came up big in overtime for the second straight Wednesday. He scored eight of his career-high 18 points in overtime and was 10-for-12 from the foul line in a 101-96 (2OT) win at Bloomsburg last week, and stepped up with the clutch free throws late and two assists to set up buckets by King in the extra session against Mansfield.

Pines scored four points, tied his career-high with seven rebounds and had five assists and two steals. He entered the night ranked 10th in Division II with 6.5 assists per game and was tied for third in the PSAC in steals (2.2).

Carr led the Mounties with 25 points and 11 rebounds and Ryan Callahan added 21 points to account for 46 points of Mansfield's final tally of 65. The Mounties lost for the second straight time after an 89-75 loss at West Chester on Saturday following a 94-87 upset of No. 3 Kutztown last Wednesday.

Mansfield led 30-29 at halftime and for the majority of the second half until senior guard Andy Heimbach hit his second three-pointer of the game to tie the score at 47-all with 8:49 left. The Mounties responded with six straight points, keyed by a three-pointer by Pender, and went ahead 53-47 on a layup by Callahan with seven minutes left.

The Warriors got back into the game at the foul line, where they lead the PSAC with a 74.0 percent mark, and the defensive end, where they held Mansfield to six points over the final seven minutes. Tobin split a pair at the line, freshman forward Duane Johnson made two for his only points of the night and Tobin drilled two more with 5:44 left to bring the Warriors within 53-52.

Callahan scored for Mansfield before Tobin hit a driving layup with just over four minutes left. Covert made one-of-two at the line to tie the game at 55-55 with 3:02 remaining and Tobin gave the Warriors their first lead in more than 10 minutes with a baseline jumper on an assist from Covert with 2:39 remaining.

Callahan set up a layup by Carr to forge the game's 10th tie before Covert hit a floater off the glass to give ESU a 59-57 edge with 1:55 on the clock. Derrison Anthony's layup on an assist from Justin Simmons tied the score at 59-all with 39 seconds left, and the Warriors were unable to get a good look to send the game into overtime.

ESU never trailed after King put his team in front with a pair of free throws 17 seconds into the extra session. Mansfield would tie the game three more times, with Carr and King trading baskets and Callahan's jumper tying the game for the 14th time, this time at 65-all, with 1:14 remaining.

The Warriors turned it over on their next possession, but Callahan missed a jumper and ESU gained the defensive rebound. After two timeouts, Pines got Carr on a switch 30 feet away from the basket and was fouled with five seconds to go. The PSAC's fifth-leading free throw shooter (82.6 percent) drained both for the game's final points.

ESU followed the same formula it has used all season to achieve the second 17-1 record in school history. The Warriors had six players with at least six points, made their free throws (16-for-20, 80 percent) and turned the ball over just 10 times in 45 minutes – the third time in five PSAC East games that they have had 10 or fewer turnovers.

ESU welcomes West Chester (13-5, 2-3) to Koehler Fieldhouse for a 3 p.m. start on Saturday. The Golden Rams fell 80-69 at PSAC East co-leader Kutztown (16-1, 4-1) on Wednesday night.