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EAST STROUDSBURG – Senior Russell Graham III and freshman Whis Grant combined for 13 of ESU's final 15 points and Graham broke an 84-84 tie with a jumper with 26 seconds left as East Stroudsburg University edged Gannon, 90-89, in both school's PSAC men's basketball opener on Saturday at Koehler Fieldhouse.

Grant finished with 20 points, eight down the stretch, and Graham had 19 and six assists as the Warriors (2-2, 1-0), picked second in the PSAC East preseason poll, won a game that was played within one possession from the 12-minute mark until Grant made two free throws for a four-point lead with 19 seconds left.

Gannon (0-1, 0-1), third in the PSAC West preseason poll, led 46-44 in a well-played first half that was the prelude for eight ties and 19 lead changes in the second half. There were 12 ties and 28 lead changes in the game.

The Warriors built a 57-51 lead, their largest of the second half, with 13:25 remaining on seven straight points from their freshmen – two free throws by Grant, an offensive rebound and putback by forward Lamont Tillery and the third three-pointer of the game by Matt Tobin.

Gannon scored the next six points to tie it at 57-all on a putback dunk by preseason All-PSAC West pick Stephen Battle (12 points, eight rebounds). Senior forward Eric Bryan, who had seven points and six rebounds in 31 minutes with junior Terrance King saddled with foul trouble, converted a three-point play to put ESU back in front before Brandon Belt (21 points, 5-for-6 on three's) knocked down a deep shot to tie it at 60-all.

Gannon took its first lead of the second half when Shameel Carty split two free throws with 10:01 remaining – the first of 16 lead changes down the stretch.

Graham scored 13 points and Grant had 12 in the second half, with the senior and freshman taking nearly all of the Warriors' big shots with their two preseason All-PSAC East selections, King and junior forward Duane Johnson, limited due to fouls.

Gannon's biggest lead was three (72-69) with 6:23 left, but Grant set up a basket by Tillery at the other end, then blocked a three-pointer by Belt and Graham hit a pull-up jumper near the end of the shot clock for a 73-72 lead with 5:29 remaining.

Darrell Blanton scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half for Gannon before fouling out and put his team back in front on the next possession. King scored for the Warriors, Battle scored for Gannon and Grant hit a driving layup to give ESU a 77-76 edge with 4:07 remaining.

Adam Blazek (18 points) knocked down two free throws for Gannon, then Carty had a putback for an 80-77 lead for the Golden Knights but fouled Grant on the inbounds play. The freshman made both to get the Warriors within one, Gannon went back to Blanton for a bucket, and Graham knocked down another jumper to pull within 82-81 with 1:46 left.

After a Gannon timeout, the Golden Knights had the first of two critical turnovers when Blazek threw the ball away in the backcourt. An ESU timeout led to a layup by Grant and potential three-point play. He missed his first free throw of the game after going 8-for-8 to that point, but ESU retained possession when the rebound was batted out of bounds and Graham drew a foul to go to the line.

The senior made one of two to put ESU ahead 84-82 with 1:07 left, but Gannon tied it on its next trip when Battle followed a missed layup by Tanner Furno with 52 seconds to play.

The Warriors put the ball in the hands of Graham after a timeout midway through its possession, and he hit jumper just above the foul line for an 86-84 lead with 26 seconds left. Gannon had a three-on-two at the other end after getting through the Warriors' pressure, but a pass glanced off Furno's hands and went out of bounds with 22 seconds remaining.

Grant was fouled and went 2-for-2 at the line to put the Warriors in front, 88-84, with 19 seconds left. A layup by Blazek made it 88-86, and Johnson hit a pair of clutch free throws for a 90-86 lead with 11 seconds remaining.

Blazek drilled a three to pull Gannon within 90-89 with four seconds left, and Grant missed both free throws, but King tipped the rebound out to Bryan as time elapsed to seal the victory.

Grant, the PSAC East Freshman of the Week after scoring 30 in his debut in a 96-92 loss to No. 6 West Liberty, has scored 83 points in his first four games with three games of at least 20 points. He had 22 in a comfortable win over PSU-Schuylkill in the Warriors' home opener on Tuesday and is the first ESU guard with back-to-back 20-point games since Rich Baker in 2004.

Graham shot 9-for-13 from the field to surpass his previous career-high of 14 points against PSU-Schuylkill last season.

Junior guard Gerald Bridges, Jr. was also in double figures with 10 points and grabbed five rebounds, four at the offensive end. He had eight points in the first half and a putback after an offensive rebound midway through the second half.

Johnson finished with eight points and five rebounds in 23 minutes and King had eight points and six rebounds in 17 minutes. Tillery saw 24 minutes of action and had seven points and three rebounds.

ESU grabbed 20 offensive rebounds among its 36 boards to help overcome Gannon's 53.7-percent performance from the field. Gannon was 8-for-11 from beyond the arc keyed by Belt's 5-for-6 outing. Four Golden Knights hit double figures in Belt (21), Blazek (18), Battle (12) and Blanton (12).

The Warriors will look for a 2-0 start to the PSAC schedule when they host Clarion on Sunday at 5 p.m. Kutztown, the PSAC East preseason favorite, notched a 96-75 win over the Golden Eagles on Saturday.