Box Score  l  Photo Gallery

EAST STROUDSBURG – Freshman guard Whis Grant scored 22 points, 15 in the second half, and junior forward Duane Johnson had 16 to pace five double-figure scorers as East Stroudsburg University ran away for a 94-82 win over West Chester in a match-up of the third- and fourth-place teams in the PSAC East on Saturday afternoon at Koehler Fieldhouse.

Grant was 7-for-8 from the field and 4-for-5 from the three-point line for the Warriors, who shot 55.8 percent (29-for-52) overall, 62.5 percent (10-for-16) from long distance and committed just 10 turnovers – three in a 49-point second half. Grant had his second straight 20-point game after going for 21 in a 70-67 loss to Bloomsburg on Wednesday.

Senior guard Russell Graham III scored 15 points, junior forward Terrance King had 10 points, six rebounds and three blocks and freshman guard Matt Tobin added 11 points off the bench. Junior guard Gerald Bridges, Jr. also came off the bench for eight points and six rebounds.

ESU (12-8, 8-6 PSAC) had assists on 20 of its 29 field goals with Graham, Johnson and Tobin credited with four each as part of a very efficient offense for the Warriors, who shot better than 55 percent for the fourth time this season.

West Chester (9-9, 6-8) was led by Jon Breeden (22 points), Lance McDowell (19 points, 10 rebounds) and Troy Hockaday (12 points), but fell two games behind ESU for the third spot in the PSAC East. Kutztown moved into a tie for first with Bloomsburg at 10-4 with a 74-65 road win at the Huskies Saturday afternoon.

ESU went 6-for-7 from the three-point line in the second half after leading 45-37 at halftime. West Chester pulled within six on a layup by Breeden to start the second stanza, but Grant banged home the second of his four three-pointers for a 48-39 lead the next time down after an offensive rebound by King.

ESU led by double figures for the final 16:22, with Johnson and Tobin hitting three-pointers around a West Chester turnover in a 20-second span to take a 56-41 lead. Grant's third three gave the Warriors their largest lead at 19 (65-46) with 11:13 left.

A brief West Chester run made it 78-66 with just under six minutes left, but the Warriors went inside to King on an assist from Tobin to stop the stretch, followed by a jumper by Tobin to push the lead back to 16.

Tobin had his first double-figure game since November 28 to join four of the Warriors' five starters in double figures. Graham and Grant have both topped double figures in 12 of the last 13 games, Johnson has hit the mark in six of the last eight, and King scored 10+ points for the fourth straight game, matching the longest stretch of his career.

The Warriors' marksmanship from the three-point line is the fourth time in the last 10 seasons that they have hit at least 10 three's at a 60-percent clip, and the second time in two seasons. They went 12-for-20 in an 85-82 loss at Kutztown last January.

ESU is on the road for its next three games after playing four of its first six PSAC East games at home. The Warriors travel to Cheyney on Wednesday and are at Kutztown on Saturday for the start of second half play.

GAME NOTES
* Grant is six points away from becoming the fifth ESU freshman since 1974-75 to score at least 300 points. He had his fifth career 20-point game and leads the Warriors with 14.7 ppg while shooting 51.1 percent.
* He also moved into third on ESU's single-season three-point field goal list for freshman with 40 this season. Will Brown, who is taking a medical redshirt this season, set the freshman record with 48 last year.  Andy Heimbach, the career leader with 236, made 43 as a freshman in 2006-07.
* ESU improved to 14-4 with eight straight wins when Johnson and King, its two preseason All-PSAC East selections, both score in double figures.
* ESU improved to 11-9 against West Chester under 10th-year head coach Jeff Wilson. The Warriors have won five straight in the series for the first time since 1991-92, when Wilson was an assistant coach under Sal Mentesana.