Box Score

Morning Call game story by Tom Housenick

EAST STROUDSBURG – Freshman guard Will Brown hit three three-pointers in the final 28 seconds of regulation, including the game-tying three with four seconds left, and East Stroudsburg University overcame an 11-point deficit in the final 57 seconds to stun Mercyhurst, 88-86 (OT), on Tuesday night at Koehler Fieldhouse.

The Warriors (7-3) extended their home non-conference winning streak to 28 games in dramatic fashion after falling behind 51-37 with 13:22 left in the second half against the Lakers, who entered with an 8-1 record. The margin was never closer than eight until the final minute, when Brown scored nine of his 11 points to give the Warriors their marquee moment of the young season.

ESU trailed 75-64 with 57 seconds left before going on a 14-3 run to end regulation. The deficit was 10 points before senior guard Micah Covert hit a triple with 34 seconds left to make the score 76-69. Then Brown came up with a steal and hit a three to make it 76-72, the Warriors fouled quickly and Jamal Turner made 1-of-2 at the line with 25 seconds on the clock.

ESU ran the ball back up the floor and Brown drilled a three to cut the margin to 77-75 with 19 seconds remaining, and Mercyhurst guard Heiden Ratner turned the ball over on the baseline to give the Warriors the ball right back. Brown missed a driving layup and Shelton Jackson got the rebound and was fouled, making 1-of-2 at the line to keep the Warriors within one possession (78-75) with 13 seconds left.

The Warriors got the ball to Brown on the wing, and the freshman avoided a double-team and shot a high-arching three that found the net with four seconds left to send the game to overtime, where ESU outscored Mercyhurst 10-8 and led throughout.

Junior forward Eric Bryan gave the Warriors the lead 14 seconds into the extra session and sophomore forward Marcus Brown and Bryan both had putbacks off offensive rebounds to break down the Lakers.

ESU was just 2-for-6 at the foul line in the last 1:13 of overtime, but Ratner was 1-for-3 when he had a chance to cut the deficit from 86-81 to two points when he was fouled shooting a three with 1:34 left. Ratner drove for a layup to make the score 86-84 at the 1:13 mark, but missed a jumper and then a three that would have tied the game in the final 30 seconds.

Ratner, the PSAC's leading scorer, led Mercyhurst (8-2) with 25 points, Jackson had 23 points and nine rebounds and Luis Leao had 19 points and eight boards before fouling out in overtime. Turner had nine assists but was just 2-for-5 at the foul line as Mercyhurst lost despite shooting 51.8 percent from the field - including 64 percent in the first half to build a 39-30 lead.

The Warriors put five players in double figures, led by senior forward Mike Tobin, who had a season-high 19 points along with six rebounds and four steals. Tobin was 5-for-7 from the field and 8-for-8 at the foul line and scored 12 points in the second half.

Sophomore forward Duane Johnson scored eight of his 12 points in the first half, senior guard Mike DeMarco had 12 points in a team-high 38 minutes in the backcourt and Will Brown (11 points) and Marcus Brown (10 points) were also in double figures.

Sophomore Terrance King (eight points, six rebounds, one block) and Bryan (six points, five rebounds, three blocks) combined for 14 points, 11 boards and four blocks at the center position. The Warriors held a 39-33 advantage on the glass and had 19 offensive rebounds which they turned into 25 second-chance points.

Head coach Jeff Wilson won his 132nd career game in his ninth season, moving one win away from tying Sal Mentesana's 133 wins for the third-most in school history. Wilson was an assistant for all nine years of Mentesana's career at ESU, from 1987-96, which includes the only PSAC championship in school history in 1989-90.

ESU will take its 28-game home non-conference winning streak into the 2011-12 season, as its final seven home games will all come against the PSAC East. The Warriors haven't lost to a non-conference opponent at Koehler Fieldhouse since a 64-59 loss to Nyack on November 27, 2007.

The Warriors will travel to western Pennsylvania to take on IUP on Saturday and California on Sunday before opening division play at home vs. Cheyney on Wednesday, January 12. IUP won the PSAC championship last March after beating ESU 67-63 in the semifinals and advanced to the Division II championship game later that month.