Box Score

BLOOMSBURG – Nnamdi Njoku followed a missed shot by Trevon Johnson with a putback at the buzzer to give first-place Bloomsburg an 80-78 (OT) win over East Stroudsburg University in PSAC East men's basketball on Wednesday night at Nelson Field House.

Freshman guard Whis Grant was fouled and hit three free throws to tie the game with 14.9 seconds left before the Huskies (18-8, 14-7 PSAC), tied for the PSAC East lead with Kutztown entering the night, won it at the end.

Junior forward Terrance King led ESU (16-11, 12-9) with 21 points and seven rebounds but fouled out with 4:01 left in overtime. The Warriors were already without junior guard Gerald Bridges, Jr., who scored eight points and fouled out in regulation, and senior forward Eric Bryan, who was injured in the first half of ESU's 71-65 loss at West Chester on Saturday.

Grant scored 19 points, shooting 6-for-12 from the field, 2-for-4 from three and 5-for-6 at the foul line, and added four assists. Senior guard Russell Graham III had 16 points, seven assists and five steals and scored nine of ESU's last 12 points in regulation to force overtime after the Huskies led 64-59 with 4:30 remaining.

The Warriors had two shots to win it in regulation. Graham's stepback jumper from the baseline was no good, but ESU retained possession on the rebound with 4.0 seconds left. After a timeout, King missed his only shot of the game, a contested 8-footer, and Grant grabbed the rebound but wasn't awarded two free throws after being hit just before the buzzer.

The loss drops ESU into fourth in the PSAC East going into the final game of the regular season, when the Warriors host Cheyney at Koehler Fieldhouse. Kutztown (17-8, 14-7) kept pace with Bloomsburg with a 77-66 win over Mansfield, and West Chester (16-9, 13-8) moved one game ahead of ESU with a 76-55 win over Cheyney. Bloomsburg hosts Millersville, Kutztown is at Shippensburg and West Chester is at Mansfield on Saturday.

ESU led 46-31 at halftime before Bloomsburg came back to erase a double-figure deficit against the Warriors at Nelson Field House for the second straight season. The Huskies overcame a 22-point deficit with 11:30 to play in an 81-80 (OT) victory last season – the year before, ESU came back from 15 down in the last 7:30 in a 101-96 (2OT) win during its NCAA Tournament season.

Dontahe Jordan scored 25 points, including 19 in the second half and two in overtime, to lead Bloomsburg. Njoku scored 12 and point guard Trevon Johnson had 11 points, four assists and put the Huskies ahead 76-75 with a jumper with 41.2 seconds left. He also committed seven of Bloomsburg's 20 turnovers.

King was 7-for-8 from the field and 7-for-8 at the foul line and added three steals and two blocks for ESU. Despite the Warriors' limited frontcourt depth, they held Bloomsburg senior Larry Webster to seven points and four rebounds and backup Ed Hall to six points and two rebounds. Junior forward Duane Johnson led ESU with eight boards.

The Warriors will recognize their two seniors, Bryan and Graham, before Saturday's game against Cheyney. Bryan (6.3 ppg, 5.6 rpg) has played 109 career games at ESU and Graham is ESU's second-leading scorer (12.1 ppg) and ranks second in the PSAC with 5.4 assists per game.

ESU will be on the road next Tuesday for its PSAC quarterfinal game, traveling to Bloomsburg, Kutztown or West Chester. Tournament information will be released Saturday as soon as it is available. The Warriors will be making their sixth tournament appearance in seven years and are the only PSAC East school to make the semifinals the last two seasons. They won 83-70 at Kutztown in the quarterfinals last year.

GAME NOTES
* Grant became ESU's second-leading freshman scorer in school history during the first half, when he scored 14 points. He has 374 points this season, passing Dave Moyer (365, 1974-75). He leads ESU with 14.4 points per game and will be the first freshman to lead ESU in scoring on a team that reached the postseason.
* Grant extended his freshman records with 51 three-pointers and 85 free throws made and also moved into second in assists (68) and a tie for second in steals (36).