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Tuesday: NCAA.com: King leads East Stroudsburg to PSAC Semis
Wednesday: Johnson, King, Graham named All-PSAC East

KUTZTOWN – Junior forward Terrance King had a career-high 32 points, including the game-tying offensive rebound, putback and three-point play with 6.2 seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime, as East Stroudsburg University advanced to the PSAC semifinals for the third straight year with a 99-91 (OT) win over Kutztown on Tuesday night at Keystone Arena.

King had 20 of his 32 in the second half and overtime and grabbed 10 rebounds for his 10th career double-double to lead the Warriors (18-11), who won at Kutztown in the quarterfinals for the second straight season and posted a 93-86 (2OT) win at KU in the school's second meeting this season on February 4.

It took a putback and the ensuing free throw by King to force overtime after Kutztown (18-9) guard Micah Fraction, who scored 34 points, hit a three-pointer with 22.0 seconds left in regulation. ESU freshman guard Whis Grant missed a baseline floater, but King gathered the board and laid it in to pull the Warriors within 83-82. After a timeout, King sank the free throw, and Fraction missed a contested 35-footer to send the game to overtime.

King scored ESU's first five points in the bonus session, starting it with another three-point play. He had 15 points in the second half and finished 11-for-19 from the field and 10-for-11 at the foul line to surpass his previous career-high of 26 points in a win at Millersville in January.

ESU will take on Mercyhurst in the semifinals on Friday at 5:30 p.m. at West Chester, which beat No. 2 seed Bloomsburg, 83-70. Mercyhurst, the No. 2 seed in the PSAC West, was a 77-69 winner over Slippery Rock and No. 1 IUP beat California, 74-70.

Senior guard Russell Graham III tied his career-highs with 19 points and nine assists, Grant scored 16 points, and junior forward Duane Johnson had 12 points and eight rebounds to help ESU advance over the PSAC East's top seed.

Senior forward Eric Bryan had seven points and four rebounds in 14 minutes after missing two games to injury. Junior Gerald Bridges, Jr. played 35 minutes behind Bryan and had three points and six rebounds, with a three-pointer at the end of the first half to pull the Warriors within 43-41 at the break.

There were 16 lead changes in the game, but only three in the last 17 minutes of the second half after ESU surged in front with a 10-0 run. The Warriors led by as many as eight points before Kutztown bounced back, led by consecutive three-pointers by Eric Brennan, to get within 66-64 at the 10-minute mark.

A three-pointer by Johnson gave ESU a 78-74 lead with 3:13 left in regulation and set up the finish. Kutztown answered with buckets by Fraction and Brennan, and took an 80-78 lead on two free throws by Nate Edwards with 1:41 remaining. The Warriors tied it at 80-all with a driving layup by Graham with 1:22 showing, but Kutztown came up with an offensive rebound after a miss by Edwards to retain possession.

Fraction hit his three-pointer as the shot clocked rolled under 10 seconds, but the Warriors quickly advanced the ball to midcourt and called timeout. Grant drove after he didn't have an open look at a three-pointer, got the ball on the rim and King cleaned up and drew the foul.

In the overtime period, King had a three-point play and another bucket on the ninth assist of the game by Graham in the first 40 seconds to put the Warriors ahead 88-85, and Kutztown never led in the final five minutes.

Another three-point play by Graham made it 91-87 with 2:43 left and Johnson hit a twisting layup on the baseline for a six-point lead (93-87) with 1:30 remaining.

ESU was 32-for-39 at the foul line for the game, including King's 10-for-11 and Grant's 10-for-10, and put it away at the line late. Grant hit six straight in the final minute and the Warriors held the Golden Bears without a field goal for the final 4:14.

Fraction was 9-for-20 from the field, 3-for-6 from the three-point line and 13-for-14 at the foul line to lead Kutztown. Devon McBride, the PSAC's second-leading scorer, had 18 points and 15 rebounds and Brennan had 17 points, six rebounds and four assists before fouling out in overtime.

Edwards, the PSAC's #4 scorer with 18.7 points per game, had just four points on 1-for-12 shooting guarded largely by Grant. McBride and Abdul King (nine points, 11 rebounds) combined for 27 of Kutztown's 28 bench points.

ESU will play in the PSAC semifinals for the third straight season and the sixth time in school history. The Warriors made three consecutive semifinals (1990-92) under head coach Sal Mentesana and assistant coach Jeff Wilson, who is in his 10th season as ESU's head coach and tied Lester Crasper (1926-39) for second in school history with his 159th career win.

Last year's 83-70 win at Kutztown was ESU's first win at Keystone Arena since 2004, and its first road win in the PSAC Tournament since 1990, its only PSAC championship season. The Warriors have now won three straight at Kutztown after this year's double-OT victory and Tuesday night's triumph.

GAME NOTES
* Johnson (911) and King (905) both went over 900 career points on Tuesday night. The juniors, both preseason All-PSAC East selections, were the first set of teammates in school history to both score 500 points through their sophomore years.

* Grant has 394 points this season, second-most by a freshman in school history. He already holds the freshman record for three-pointers (52), extended the record for free throws made (96), set the record for steals (39) and is second in assists (72).

* Grant (14.1 ppg), Graham (12.6), King (12.5) and Johnson (12.3) all hit double figures on Tuesday. ESU has won 12 straight games when Johnson and King are both in double figures and is 18-4 over the last two years.

* King has improved his free throw percentage from 57.9 to 65.1 to 72.4 over the last three years, culminating with Tuesday's 10-for-11 performance. He shot a career-high 14 free throws, making 9, on Saturday against Cheyney. He is 31-for-38 (81.6 percent) over the last four games.

* Graham moved into 7th in single-season assists at ESU with 161. He was 2nd in the PSAC in the regular season with 5.4 per game and has 36 over the last five games. He had his fourth career 19-point game (and second straight), third 9-assist game and has scored in double figures in 20 of the last 22 games.

* Bryan played in his 110th career game for the Warriors. He hit his 9th three-pointer of the season in the first half and is averaging 6.4 points and 5.6 rebounds in 27 games, all starts.

* Bryan, Johnson, King, Bridges and redshirt junior guard Matt Labick have all been part of the Warriors' three straight PSAC semifinal teams.