Box Score  l  Highlights  l  Photo Gallery

EAST STROUDSBURG – Junior guard Whis Grant scored 24 points and freshman forward Rasheed Moore had 20 points and 16 rebounds, leading No. 17-ranked East Stroudsburg University to a 102-87 win over Lock Haven in PSAC East men's basketball on Wednesday night at Koehler Fieldhouse.

Junior guard Matt Tobin had 14 points and six assists, and junior forward Lamont Tillery added a career-high 14 points with seven rebounds for the Warriors, who improved to 7-0 (3-0 PSAC East).

Moore is the first ESU freshman with 15 rebounds since three-time All-America Jonathan Roberts did it twice in 1986-87. He is the second ESU player in 12 years under head coach Jeff Wilson with at least 20 points and 16 rebounds in a game.

He had six points and 10 rebounds in the first half, and 14 points and six rebounds in the second half – including seven points and four boards in the first 4:30.

Grant, coming off a 52-point week (23 vs. Mansfield, 29 at Kutztown) in ESU's last action, had his third straight game with 20+ points. He had two streaks of three 20-point games as a sophomore, when he was the PSAC East Athlete of the Year and an All-America honorable mention selection.

Wali Hepburn had 31 points to lead Lock Haven (3-3, 1-2), which handed the Warriors their first double-figure deficit of the season at 24-14 midway through the first half.

The Bald Eagles led 26-16 before the Warriors erupted for a 19-2 run in a five-minute stretch, going ahead 35-28 with 3:46 left in the first half. Lock Haven closed with a 12-6 push to get within 41-40 at intermission.

The Warriors scored 61 points in the second half, their most in 161 games in a PSAC contest under 12th-year head coach Jeff Wilson.

ESU never trailed after the first 30 seconds of the second half, but it was 62-59 with 11:12 remaining before another ESU run – this time, 11-2 in just over two minutes to secure a more substantial advantage.

Moore converted a three-point play, Tobin had a steal and assisted on a layup by Grant, Tillery had a putback and senior forward Zechariah Runkle ended it with a three-pointer from the corner for a 73-61 lead – pushing it to double figures for the first time – with 8:59 remaining.

Tobin, second in the PSAC in assists (4.3) and the conference leader in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.6), had six assists against just two turnovers to go with his season-high 14 points. He led the Warriors with 12 in the first half, going 5-for-5 from the field and 2-for-2 from the three-point line.

Sophomore guard Malcolm Richardson, second in the PSAC in assist-to-turnover ratio and second in the PSAC East in assists, had six assists and just one turnover in 13 minutes.

The Warriors had a turnover advantage of +5 (19-14) after entering ranked fourth in Division II at +7.8 per game. They were the DII leaders in steals per game (13.8) and registered six on the evening.

Sophomore guard Jamal Nwaniemeka nearly gave the Warriors a fifth double-figure scorer with nine points and six rebounds off the bench.

Tillery surpassed his season-high of 12 points in the Warriors' last game at Kutztown, and career-high of 13 which he hit twice previously, with his 14 points. He had nine points and five rebounds in the second half.

The game included 81 free throw attempts (ESU 26-for-41, Lock Haven 28-for-40) and 57 total fouls, 31 on Lock Haven and 26 on ESU.

Lock Haven had four players foul out in Kasheef Festus (five points, two rebounds in 16 minutes), Nate Walters (12 points, 10 rebounds in 30 minutes), Bootsie Walker (10 points in 14 minutes) and Dave Garcia (two points in 21 minutes). Hepburn played 39 minutes for the Bald Eagles.

ESU, which last played November 23 at Kutztown (W 83-70) heads to Millersville on Saturday before another 10-day break for finals. The Marauders are 2-3 (1-1 PSAC East) and coming off an 86-85 win over West Chester on Wednesday.


GAME NOTES
* ESU moved up six spots in this week's NABC DII poll to No. 17 after remaining idle last week. The Warriors' ranking of No. 23 on November 26 was their earliest in school history.

* ESU has been ranked eight weeks since January 29, 2013 – after being ranked for seven total weeks in school history prior to that point.

* The Warriors improved to 11-3 in home games while playing with a national ranking. They are 17-9 when ranked overall.

* Grant entered as the active DII leader in career points with 1,033. He was the PSAC East Athlete of the Week after scoring 52 points, including the 1,000th of his career, two weeks ago.
* He is averaging 18.9 points per game after averaging 17.6 as a sophomore.

* Moore received the first two PSAC East Athlete of the Week awards, averaging 12.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and shooting 60.9 percent through the first six games.
* He shot 7-for-13 from the field and 6-for-10 at the foul line for his 20 points.
* He is averaging 13.9 points and 7.0 rebounds (59.3 fg%) after Wednesday night.

* Jonathan Roberts – the school record holder with 2,218 career points and 1,247 rebounds – had 15+ rebounds twice as a freshman. He had 21 at home against Wilkes, and 18 at Shippensburg.

* ESU's only other game of at least 20 points and 16 rebounds under Wilson came in 2007-08, when Chris Bach had 22 points and 16 rebounds vs. PSU-Schuylkill.

* Wilson was the DII Bulletin "Coach of the Month" for ESU's 6-0 start in November.

* The Warriors' 7-0 start is tied for their 3rd-longest in 70 years. They opened 13-0 in 2009-10, 10-0 in 1971-72, and 7-0 in 1991-92.