Box Score  l  Photo Gallery

WEST LIBERTY, W.V. – The nation's top scoring team put eight players in double figures as top seed West Liberty advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional with a 119-82 win over East Stroudsburg University on Saturday night.

Senior forward Eric Bryan had 15 points and six rebounds to lead five ESU players in double figures. Freshman guard Matt Tobin had 14 points off the bench, junior forward Duane Johnson had 12 points and seven rebounds, junior forward Terrance King had 11 points and eight rebounds and freshman guard Whis Grant scored 11 points.

The Warriors finish the 2011-12 season with a 20-12 record, the second PSAC championship in school history and third trip to the NCAA Tournament in school history. ESU competed in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three seasons.

Cedric Harris had 21 points and nine assists to lead No. 3-ranked West Liberty (30-2), the defending regional champion which advanced to the Final Four last season. The Hilltoppers shot 55.0 percent from the field, 53.6 percent (15-for-28) from the three-point line and had 26 assists and just eight turnovers. They averaged 102.8 points per game and led the nation by nearly 15 points per game entering the postseason.

ESU started and finished its seventh 20-win season in school history against West Liberty, falling 96-92 on November 12 in a tournament at Shippensburg in the first meeting.

The Warriors led 49-45 at halftime in that game, but Saturday was a different story as the Hilltoppers built a 64-36 lead at halftime, shooting 8-for-17 from three-point range and committing just two turnovers.

West Liberty advances to play the winner of Saturday's fourth quarterfinal between WV Wesleyan and Winston-Salem State. Wheeling Jesuit topped Charleston, 79-76, and Shaw beat IUP, 62-54, in the first two games.

Harris was the only Hilltopper to score more than 15 points. Tim Hausfeld had 15 points on five three-pointers, first team All-WVIAC pick Alex Falk had 14, Keene Cockburn scored 13, Chris Morrow, C.J. Hester and Shawn Dyer scored 12 and Michael Lopez added 11. Falk and Cockburn grabbed a team-high seven rebounds as WL outrebounded ESU, 47-43.

Bryan played his 113th career game, tied for third-most in school history, and his 15 points were one off his career-high. Bryan, Johnson and King all played in their ninth career postseason game, the most in school history, which includes three straight PSAC Final Fours and NCAA Tournament trips in 2010 and 2012.

Senior guard Russell Graham III had four points, five rebounds and three assists in his final game at ESU, ranking sixth on the single-season assist list with 167 while leading the Warriors to their first PSAC championship since 1990. He was a second team All-PSAC East selection and was fourth in the Warriors with 12.3 points per game in his only full season at ESU.

Grant ended the season as ESU's top scorer with 13.9 points per game and is the first freshman to lead the Warriors in scoring on a team that reached the postseason. His 431 points are second-most by a freshman in school history and he set freshman records with 54 three-pointers, 113 free throws and 42 steals while ranking second with 76 assists.

Johnson, a first team All-PSAC East pick, and King, a second team selection and the PSAC Tournament MVP, both close their junior seasons with 951 career points. King was ESU's second-leading scorer (12.8 ppg) and top rebounder (7.0 rpg), and Johnson was third on the team in scoring (12.4 ppg) and second in rebounding (6.2).

GAME NOTES  l  Season/Career Highs  l  School Records

* ESU's 60 wins over the last three years are the third-most in school history. The Warriors were 63-12 from 1970-71 to 1972-73, 61-31 from 1989-90 to 1991-92 and are 60-30 in the last three seasons, including two trips to the NCAA Tournament. ESU was 24-6 in 2009-10, 16-12 last season and 20-12 this year.

* ESU's 76 wins over the last four years are tied for the most in school history. The Warriors won 18 games in 2006-07 and 2007-08, 16 in 2008-09 and 24 in 2009-10.

* The Warriors earned their NCAA Tournament trip by becoming the first No. 4 seed to win the PSAC championship since 1991. ESU won two road games and a neutral site game over five days - 99-91 (OT) at Kutztown, 66-58 vs. Mercyhurst and 90-85 at West Chester.

* ESU's seven straight seasons with a winning record is the program's best stretch since eight straight from 1930-38.
* The Warriors have won at least 16 games in all seven years, extending the best run in school history.
* ESU is one of three schools to make the PSAC Tournament in 6 of the last 7 seasons.

* Head coach Jeff Wilson is 161-120 in 10 seasons and has led the Warriors to three straight PSAC Final Fours along with NCAA Tournament appearances in 2010 and 2012. Wilson moved into second in school history in career wins with the PSAC semifinal victory over Mercyhurst.

* Grant scored 30 points in his first career game in the season opener against West Liberty. He had at least 18 points in 11 games and scored in double figures in 25 of the 31 games he played in as a freshman.

* Bryan had 599 points, 462 rebounds and 63 blocks in his four years at ESU. He averaged 6.9 points and 5.6 rebounds as a senior, his only full season as a starter. He ranks 12th in career blocks.
* Bryan's 113 career games are tied with Andy Heimbach (2006-10) for 3rd-most in school history. Todd Painton holds the school record with 117 games from 1988-92 and the late Ed Urie played in 114 games from 1985-90.

* King earned the PSAC Tournament MVP last week with 67 points and 34 rebounds over three games. He had a career-high 32 points, including a game-tying three-point play with 6.2 seconds left, and 10 rebounds at Kutztown; 9 points and a career-high 15 rebounds vs. Mercyhurst; and 26 points and 9 rebounds in the PSAC championship game at West Chester.
* King will enter his senior year with 951 points, 491 rebounds and 141 blocks (3rd in school history). He ranks 5th at ESU in career field goal percentage (56.1).

* Johnson has 951 points, 435 rebounds, 162 assists, 105 steals and 66 blocks through three seasons. He has played in 90 career games, including nine in the postseason.
* Johnson led the Warriors in minutes (32.7) and averaged 12.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.9 blocks per game.