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EAST STROUDSBURG – Junior forward Terrance King tied his career-high with 20 points and head coach Jeff Wilson posted his 150th career win as East Stroudsburg University broke the game open late in the first half in a 76-56 victory over Mansfield in the PSAC East men's basketball opener for both schools on Wednesday night at Koehler Fieldhouse.

King and classmate Duane Johnson, both preseason All-PSAC East picks, both hit double figures in the same game for the first time since December 3 to get the Warriors off to a good start in the PSAC East. ESU (9-6, 5-4 PSAC) entered the divisional schedule tied for second in the East with a 4-4 record in crossover play and was picked second in the preseason poll.

Johnson had 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists and freshman forward Lamont Tillery added 11 points for the Warriors, who led 40-25 at halftime after closing the final four minutes of the period with an 11-1 run.

King had 16 points and seven rebounds in the opening period, scoring six points in a 9-2 start, to lead from the tip except for a tie at 2-2. Mansfield (5-8, 2-7) got within 21-19 at the seven-minute mark, but King answered with a bucket and Johnson had an offensive rebound and putback.

The Warriors led 29-24 when they started their run to close the first half. Freshman guard Matt Tobin, who scored eight points, hit a pair of free throws, King had a putback, Tillery had five quick points and King grabbed his fifth offensive rebound of the half and laid it in in the final 10 seconds.

Mansfield never threatened in the second half led by eight points from Johnson, who started the scoring and gave ESU its first 20-point lead on a driving layup four minutes into the period. The Warriors' biggest advantage was 26 (63-37) at the 12-minute mark.

ESU shot 46.6 percent from the field (27-for-58), 77.3 percent at the foul line (17-for-22) and had a rebounding advantage of 43-29, grabbing 14 boards on the offensive end. ESU had 19 second-chance points, 15 in the first half.

Mansfield was led by freshman Joe Bell, who had 10 of his 12 points in the first half. Chuck Harper had 11 points and point guard Josh Dupuy scored all 10 of his points in the second half.

The Warriors held the Mounties to 35.1 percent from the floor (20-for-57) and turned 16 turnovers into 14 points. Mansfield had eight points off 15 ESU turnovers.

King had his second 20-point game of the season and the third of his career, going 9-for-13 from the field in 25 minutes.

Johnson's 15 points are his most since scoring 18 against PSU-Schuylkill on November 15. He has scored at least eight points in all 15 games to rank second with 12.1 points per game, followed by King (11.7) and senior guard Russell Graham III (11.3), who had seven points, three rebounds and three assists and is second in the PSAC with 5.8 assists per game.

Graham and freshman guard Whis Grant had both hit double figures in seven straight games, but King and Johnson picked up the scoring load against the Mounties. Grant, ESU's top scorer with 13.9 points per game, had two points but Tobin came off the bench for eight and knocked down two of the Warriors' five three-pointers.

ESU hosts PSAC East preseason favorite Kutztown on Saturday at 3 p.m. The Golden Bears kept pace with the Warriors at 5-4 with an 87-68 win vs. West Chester on Wednesday night.

Game Notes
* Wilson improves to 150-114 in his 10th season at ESU. He ranks third in school history in career wins, behind Ken Sisson (214 wins from 1963-78, 79-83) and Lester Crasper (160 wins from 1926-39).
* Wilson passed Sal Mentesana (133 wins from 1987-96) last year. Wilson was an assistant coach under Mentesana for all nine seasons, including the only PSAC championship in school history in 1989-90.