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EAST STROUDSBURG – East Stroudsburg University broke the game open with a 22-0 run in the second half and earned its fourth PSAC playoff berth in the last five seasons with a 78-54 win over Millersville on Wednesday night at Koehler Fieldhouse.

The Warriors (22-4, 9-4) put four players in double figures, led by the third career double-double by junior forward Mike Tobin, who had 13 points and 12 rebounds. ESU outrebounded the Marauders 56-35, with freshman forward Terrance King (12 points, 8 rebounds) and sophomore forward Eric Bryan (10 points, 8 boards) joining Tobin on the glass.

ESU's two senior starters, Robby Pines and Andy Heimbach, played key roles in the second half as the Warriors pulled away. Pines finished with five points, six rebounds and 10 assists – seven in the second half – and Heimbach scored all 11 of his points in a five-minute stretch after the break. Senior forward Preston Ritter contributed three points, a season-high six rebounds and a block in five minutes off the bench.

ESU, ranked fifth in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region in the most recent set of rankings released on Wednesday, finishes the regular season at West Chester on Saturday and will have a chance to earn one of the top two spots in the PSAC East and a home game in next Tuesday's quarterfinals. The top team remaining in the East after Tuesday's action will host the PSAC semifinals and finals next Friday and Saturday.

The first 25 minutes of the game were played within nine points either way – Millersville's largest lead was five at 7-2, and ESU led by four twice and held a 34-31 lead at halftime. The Marauders came out of the locker room with a 9-2 run capped by a three-pointer by Mike Seibert before the Warriors scored on their next two possessions to tie the game at 40-all.

Freshman forward Duane Johnson (six points, six rebounds) gave ESU a 42-40 lead after a series that included four offensive boards, while Palmer McDurfee gave Millersville a 43-42 edge with a three-pointer with 14:56 remaining.

The Warriors went ahead for good when Pines set up a layup for King 12 seconds later, Johnson sank two free throws with 14:00 remaining and then the flood gates opened. Millersville didn't score again until there was 7:25 left and didn't hit its next field goal until there was 5:13 on the clock.

ESU shot 7-for-11 from the field, rebounded two of its misses and was 6-for-6 at the foul line during its 22-point run. King scored six points, including a pair of emphatic dunks, Bryan was 4-for-4 at the line and had four rebounds and Pines assisted on four of the Warriors' seven field goals. Heimbach got in on the action with a three-pointer for his first points of the game to make the score 60-43 with 8:50 left and scored 11 of ESU's 19 points over the next five minutes.

The Warriors' domination on the glass included 18 offensive rebounds, and Millersville shot just 32.8 percent with ESU claiming a commanding edge (38-11) on the defensive end. Tobin's 12 rebounds were one off his season- and career-high and marked his seventh game of the year in double figures.

Pines hit the 10-assist mark for the third time this season and the fourth time in his career. He entered the game as the PSAC leader and tied for 12th in Division II with 6.2 assists per game and moved into fifth place in school history in single season assists (165) and eighth in career assists (282). He also picked up one steal to move into sixth on ESU's single-season list with 62, and is five steals away from landing in the career top 10.

Heimbach extended his school record for career three-pointers to 224, moved within three three's of tying the single season record of 67 and finished the game with 1,102 career points.

The Warriors made three straight trips to the PSAC playoffs from 2006-08 and are back in the postseason for the 11th time in school history. They can tie the school record of 23 wins that was set in 1972-73, earn a home playoff game for the first time since 1998 and move one step closer to the NCAA Tournament with a win at West Chester on Saturday afternoon.

ESU, Cheyney and Mansfield enter the final day of the regular season tied for first in the PSAC East at 9-4. Mansfield can secure the top seed with a win at Millersville, while ESU holds the tiebreaker with Cheyney due to its season sweep. Bloomsburg (6-7) travels to Kutztown (7-6) to play for the final playoff spot.