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CHEYNEY - Senior forwards Duane Johnson and Terrance King and sophomore guard Whis Grant combined for 65 points as East Stroudsburg University opened an 18-point lead, then held off Cheyney for a 94-91 win in PSAC men's basketball on Saturday afternoon at Cope Hall.

Johnson (25 points, 6 rebounds), King (20 points, 12 rebounds) and Grant (20 points, 6 assists) are the first trio of players to score 20 points in a game in 11 seasons under head coach Jeff Wilson as the Warriors improve to 6-1 overall and 3-0 in the PSAC.

Sophomore guard Matt Tobin had 10 points and six assists, senior forward Gerald Bridges scored nine points (all in the last nine minutes) and junior forward Zechariah Runkle had six points, five rebounds and three assists off the bench for ESU.

Jason Sabb scored 24 points, Brandon Norfleet had 18, Deshawn Curtis 16 and Rashaad Slappy 15 and 10 rebounds for Cheyney (3-3, 1-2), which opened its PSAC schedule with a 64-60 win over No. 15-ranked IUP last Saturday.

The Warriors extended their winning streak against PSAC schools to seven games, which goes back to last year's three-game run to the second PSAC championship in school history. The seven-game winning streak is ESU's second-best against PSAC competition in the last 40 years, behind a nine-game streak in 2007-08. ESU opened conference play with wins at Mercyhurst (67-62) and Gannon (52-46) last weekend.

ESU also won its record eighth straight game against Cheyney in a series that started in 1954. The Warriors had previously won seven straight from 1956-59. Four of the last eight wins have been decided by four points or less, with another game going to overtime.

Johnson scored 17 of his 25 points in the second half, including 11 in the first eight minutes as the Warriors established an 18-point lead (65-47) after leading 46-34 at halftime.

Cheyney came back with a 14-0 run in the next three minutes, pulling within 65-61, before Bridges scored seven of the game's next nine points to keep the Warriors in front, 72-63.

Cheyney cut it to five (80-75) with just over three minutes to play, but Grant set up a dunk by Johnson to push the margin back to seven, and a three-point play by King made it 89-79 with 1:40 remaining.

ESU saw its lead close to 92-88 with 20 seconds left with Cheyney taking possession on a jump ball, but Tobin blocked a driving layup and Johnson grabbed the rebound, went to the other end and made both free throws to make it 94-88 with 10 seconds to go. Sabb knocked down a three with 0.6 seconds left to set the final margin.

King had his second double-double of the season and 12th of his career while recording his ninth career 20-point game. He shot 8-for-11 from the floor and 4-for-5 at the foul line.

Grant hit 20 points for the seventh time in 38 career games, and the second time this season. He had 18 of his 20 in the first half, including three three-pointers and two other “three-point plays”, knocking down all three free throws after being fouled on a long distance attempt.

ESU was 10-for-17 from the three-point line overall, including 8-for-11 in the first half. Grant was 3-for-4, Johnson 3-for-3 and Runkle 2-for-3 - knocking down back-to-back triples during a 16-4 run to close the opening period.

The Warriors shot 51.8 percent (29-for-56) from the field and 26-for-36 at the foul line for their highest-scoring regulation against  PSAC opponent since a 94-82 win over West Chester last January.

Cheyney shot 41.7 percent (30-for-72) overall, 5-for-17 from long distance and 26-for-32 at the line. The Wolves held a 41-38 advantage in rebounds and 13-11 in turnovers.

Johnson moved from 21st to 17th on ESU's career scoring list, finishing the day with 1,084 career points. King moved from 23rd to 22nd with 1,047 points. Johnson is averaging 19.0 points per game, going over 20 four times in seven games. His 25 points at Cheyney marked a season-high and are tied for third-most in his career.

ESU is away from action for finals week and returns to the floor on Tuesday, December 18 at 7:30 p.m. against Lock Haven. The Warriors finish the first semester against Clarion on Wednesday night.