Box Score

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. – Senior guard Russell Graham III had 16 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals to lead East Stroudsburg University in a 74-61 men's basketball exhibition loss in front of 1,650 patrons at Division I Rider on Saturday afternoon.

Junior forward Duane Johnson had 12 points and six rebounds, freshman guard Whis Grant scored 11 points and senior forward Eric Bryan added eight points and eight rebounds as the Warriors continued their preparations for the 2011-12 season, which begins next Saturday against No. 6-ranked West Liberty in a tournament at Shippensburg.

Novar Gadson, a preseason first team All-MAAC selection, led Rider with 20 points and nine rebounds, Virginia transfer Jeff Jones had 15 points and Daniel Stewart had eight points and 10 rebounds. Stewart and Jones are both third team preseason picks and Rider was picked fourth in the 10-team conference.

The Warriors held their own on the glass, with both teams grabbing 45 rebounds, and came down with 21 offensive boards to mitigate a 26.1 percent (18-for-69) night from the floor. ESU also attempted seven more free throws than Rider, going 20-for-30 from the stripe, led by Graham (9-for-12), and held a 23-21 advantage in turnovers.

ESU battled back from Rider's 8-0 run to start to the game to tie it at 15-all on a three-pointer by Grant with just over 11 minutes left in the first half. The Warriors were within 27-23 on an offensive rebound and putback by freshman forward Lamont Tillery with less than seven minutes to go in the half before the Broncs went on a run to go up 42-28 at intermission.

The Warriors held a 33-32 advantage on the scoreboard in the second half and got as close as eight in three occasions in the first four minutes of the period. Johnson hit back-to-back three-pointers in the first 1:15 and Graham was 4-for-4 from the line early in the second half.

Head coach Jeff Wilson's team played Lehigh in a closed scrimmage earlier in the week and will be back on the practice floor this week before leaving for Shippensburg. The Warriors will face two of the top three teams in the WVIAC in preseason favorite West Liberty, which was 33-1 and advanced to the NCAA Division II semifinals last year, and Charleston (15-13), which is picked third in the 15-school conference.