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EAST STROUDSBURG – East Stroudsburg University cut a 10-point deficit to two points with 1:09 remaining and had possession with the chance to tie or take the lead in the final half-minute, but PSAC East leader Bloomsburg held off the third-place Warriors for a 70-67 win at Koehler Fieldhouse on Wednesday night.

The Warriors (11-8, 7-6) trailed by 10 on three occasions in the second half, the latest with 6:15 remaining, but held the Huskies (14-4, 10-3) to three points in the final 4:36 to close the margin down the stretch.

ESU got within five (67-62) on a layup by freshman forward Lamont Tillery with 4:01 left, cut it to 69-65 on one-of-two at the line by freshman guard Whis Grant with 2:08 remaining, and finally made it a one possession game at 69-67 when junior forward Duane Johnson sank two free throws with 1:09 on the clock.

A great defensive possession forced a long, off-balance three-pointer by Lorenzo Christmas and senior forward Eric Bryan grabbed his 11th rebound, tying his career-high, to give ESU the ball with 36 seconds left.

After a timeout, the Warriors ran the clock inside 10 seconds, but senior guard Russell Graham III took a jumper in the lane that was blocked and corralled by Dontahe Jordan. Jordan made the second of two free throws at the other end to put Bloomsburg up three, and Graham's 30-footer to tie the game was off the front of the rim at the buzzer.

Grant led ESU with 21 points, his fourth 20-point game of the season and the highest output in a PSAC game for the reigning PSAC East Freshman of the Week.

Graham had 14 points, six rebounds and five assists – going 12-for-17 at the foul line – as ESU converted on 27-of-37 attempts at the line. Junior forward Terrance King had 10 points and 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season, and Bryan and Johnson scored seven points each.

Larry Webster had 14 points, 10 rebounds (seven offensive) and three blocks to lead Bloomsburg, which had seven of its 10 blocked shots from its front line of Webster, Ed Hall (14 points, six rebounds, two blocks) and Jordan (eight points, six rebounds, two blocks). Webster and Hall both fouled out late in the game.

Trevon Johnson had 15 points, four rebounds, three assists, five steals and two blocks at point guard and Christmas scored 12 points off the bench for the Huskies, which were coming off their first divisional loss at West Chester on Saturday.

The first half was played within an 11-point window, with ESU's biggest lead six points (9-3) and Bloomsburg's largest at five points (25-20). The Warriors closed the half on an 11-3 run to lead 31-28 at the break.

Both teams turned the ball over just 11 times in a physical game that featured 60 total free throws and 36 offensive rebounds.

Bloomsburg shot 43.5 percent (27-for-62) from the field, 3-for-10 from long range and 13-for-23 at the foul line. The Huskies had 19 of their 42 rebounds at the offensive end and had nine steals on ESU's 11 turnovers, leading to 18 points.

ESU shot 31.5 percent (17-for-54) overall and 6-for-17 from the three-point line, making up the deficit with its 27-for-37 mark at the line led by Graham (12-for-17) and Grant (6-for-9). ESU had 38 total rebounds, 17 offensive, for a 22-17 advantage in second-chance points.

The Warriors, now 3-2 in divisional play and 7-6 overall in the conference, host fourth-place West Chester on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Koehler Fieldhouse. The Golden Rams won 79-49 at Cheyney on Wednesday to improve to 9-8 (6-7 PSAC).

GAME NOTES
* ESU is now 12-7 against Bloomsburg in its 10th season under head coach Jeff Wilson.
* Bryan went over 500 career points and 400 career rebounds (504 points, 402 rebounds) in his 102nd career game. He also moved into 11th in career blocked shots with 58.
* Grant scored 20 points vs. Gannon in his first PSAC game on Nov. 19, which he surpassed with 21 against Bloomsburg. He scored his career-high, 30 points, in his first career game - a 96-92 loss vs. No. 6-ranked West Liberty on Nov. 12 at Shippensburg.
* Grant leads the Warriors with 14.3 points per game, followed by Graham (12.1), King (12.1) and Johnson (11.5).
* Graham went over 100 assists on the season, with 102. He entered the game ranked 2nd in the PSAC with 5.4 per game.

* The Warriors baseball program was recognized for its 2011 NCAA Division II Tournament appearance at halftime. ESU finished third in the Atlantic Region in its second-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament, and the first since 1985. (Complete release)