Box Score / Photo Gallery

EAST STROUDSBURG – Junior forward Mike Tobin had 17 points and nine rebounds and freshman forward Terrance King recorded his first career double-double with 11 points and 13 boards as No. 17 East Stroudsburg University moved into a tie for first place in the PSAC East with a 63-55 overtime victory vs. Cheyney on Saturday afternoon at Koehler Fieldhouse.

The Warriors (21-4, 8-4) led 35-26 at halftime and 42-26 early in the second half before the Wolves went on a 13-0 run, locked down defensively and eventually tied the game with 3:47 to go. Neither team scored for the final 2:20 of regulation and the Wolves took their first lead of the game in the first minute of overtime before ESU scored the next nine points to seize control. The Warriors outscored the Wolves 14-6 and Tobin and King combined for eight points and five rebounds in the extra session.

ESU's victory, combined with Mansfield's 53-50 win over West Chester and Kutztown's 87-83 loss at Shippensburg, creates a three-way tie for first place in the PSAC East with two games remaining. ESU, Cheyney and Mansfield are all 8-4, with Kutztown a game back at 7-5 and Bloomsburg returning to the playoff picture at 6-6.

The Warriors snapped a two-game losing streak and beat Cheyney (15-10, 8-4) for the second time this season after taking the first meeting 77-73 on January 23. They host Millersville on Wednesday at 8 p.m. and travel to West Chester next Saturday for a 4 p.m. start to finish the regular season.

Cheyney entered the game in sole possession of first place in the division, but ESU jumped out to an early 11-2 lead on two three-pointers by junior guard Mike DeMarco (13 points), a triple by Tobin and a layup by King. The Wolves came back to tie the game at 16-all at the midpoint of the half and the game was tight until ESU finished the half on a 6-0 run, with a three-pointer from senior guard Andy Heimbach and a three-point play by Tobin, to take a nine-point advantage into halftime.

The second half was a defensive slugfest with neither team shooting better than 31 percent. Cheyney won the half, 23-14, to force overtime after it looked like the Warriors had taken control with the first seven points of the half to go ahead 42-26.

Cheyney battled back and a three-pointer by Sharif Bray, the PSAC's second-leading scorer at 22.1 points per game, capped the 13-point spurt and made the score 42-39 with 11:31 to play.

Both teams turned up the defensive pressure from that point, as a layup by ESU freshman forward Marcus Brown with 8:30 left was the only field goal for a six-minute stretch before Rob Townsend had a steal and dunk to bring the Wolves within two (44-42) with 5:25 remaining.

King answered with a bucket for the Warriors and Tobin hit one-of-two at the line before Tamir Smith's three-point play trimmed the lead to 47-45 with 4:24 on the clock. Kevin Presbery tied the game at 47-all after an ESU turnover, and Smith had a chance to give Cheyney its first lead of the game but missed the front end of a one-and-one with 3:25 on the clock.

Senior guard Robby Pines put ESU back in front with two free throws and James Inge tied the game again as Cheyney got into the open floor to make the score 49-all with 2:20 remaining.

Both teams worked the clock late in regulation, with Smith missing a three-pointer with 17 seconds left for Cheyney's best chance and junior guard Micah Covert missing a contested three from the top of the key as time expired.

The Wolves took their only lead of the game on their first possession of overtime when Bray hit a pair of free throws, but the Warriors responded with a layup by King on an assist from Covert and never trailed from that point.

Pines set up a layup by King to give ESU a two-point lead, and Tobin scored, missed the free throw on a three-point play opportunity but came away with his own offensive rebound with the Warriors leading 55-51 with 2:17 left.

Covert hit perhaps the game's biggest shot with 56 seconds remaining, knocking down a floater with one second left on the shot clock for a 57-51 lead. A full-court pass from Heimbach to Tobin for a layup gave ESU a 60-53 advantage with 36 seconds to play and sealed the victory.

Smith led Cheyney with 15 points, Bray had 14 and Presbery posted 11 points and 11 boards, but the trio combined to shoot 28 percent from the field (13-46). The Wolves shot 29.7 percent for the game (2-for-9 in overtime) and were 3-for-20 from long distance.

ESU shot 46.2 percent in the first half but just 26.3 percent in the second (5-19) before going 5-for-6 from the field in overtime.

Pines had five points, three rebounds and six assists and Heimbach had six points and five assists for ESU. The two seniors, along with forward Preston Ritter, will be honored on Senior Night on Wednesday when the Warriors look to secure a playoff spot with a win over Millersville.

ESU recognized its 36 1,000-point scorers (23 men, 13 women) in school history between games.