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SHIPPENSBURG - Shippensburg had a game-changing 12-0 run early in the second half and held off No. 9-ranked East Stroudsburg University, 87-77, handing the Warriors their first loss in almost two months and ending a school record-tying 14-game winning streak on Saturday afternoon at Heiges Field House.

Senior forward Duane Johnson tied his career-high with 29 points (22 in second half) for ESU (20-3, 17-2), which also saw a nine-game road winning streak come to an end one game from tying a school record set from 1926-28.

The Warriors' last loss came to Lock Haven, 68-58, on December 18 at Koehler Fieldhouse. Since then, they won 14 straight, including victories over PSAC contenders IUP, Slippery Rock, Edinboro, West Chester and Millersville, but couldn't overcome 31 points and nine assists from Shippensburg's Reggie Charles.

The Warriors also had one of the five longest active winning streaks in Division II as they rose to the highest national ranking in school history, surpassing a No. 12 ranking during the 2009-10 season. The 14-game winning streak matched a record set by the 1940-41 Warriors.

ESU, the defending PSAC champion, holds a two-game lead over West Chester (17-6, 15-4) for the PSAC East regular season title with three games remaining. The Warriors are at Millersville (15-9, 11-7) next Wednesday and host West Chester Saturday, before finishing the regular season against Bloomsburg (7-16, 5-14) on Wednesday, February 27. Millersville has yet to play this weekend, as its game at Kutztown was postponed to Monday.

Shippensburg (7-16, 5-14) closed the first half on a 17-4 run over the final 5:30 to take a 37-27 lead into the locker room, the first time the Warriors trailed at the half since an 84-72 win at Slippery Rock on January 11 in the fourth game of the 14-game winning streak.

Dylan Edgar (14 points, 11 rebounds) scored the first bucket of the half for Shippensburg before a 7-0 ESU run in just 1:30 got the Warriors within 39-34.

Shippensburg answered with a 12-0 run - including consecutive three's by Charles - to make it 51-34 with 15 minutes left and leaving the Warriors with an uphill battle.

They closed an 18-point deficit to 11 (57-46) with just under 10 minutes left and were on the verge of cutting it to single digits on several occasions, but Ship continued to answer. Johnson scored seven straight points for the Warriors to get within 65-55 with 5:57 left, but they didn't get it under 10 until a three-pointer by Johnson with 25.4 seconds left.

Charles hit arguably the game's biggest shot, a three-pointer off a broken play with the shot clock running down with 1:21 to play. The shot gave Shippensburg an 80-67 lead and regained control after a 6-2 ESU run.

Sophomore guard Matt Tobin scored 12 points and senior forward Terrance King had 10 points, eight rebounds and three blocks for ESU. Senior guard Blair Ramsey (eight) and sophomore forward Lamont Tillery (seven points) contributed to the bench scoring. ESU was without sophomore guard Whis Grant, the PSAC's sixth-leading scorer with 17.5 points per game.

Johnson's 29 points tied his career-high which he set in a double-overtime win at Kutztown last year. He was 9-for-15 from the field, 2-for-3 from the three-point line and 9-for-13 at the foul line and added five rebounds (four offensive).

Charles was 9-for-14 from the field, 3-for-3 from long distance and 10-for-11 at the line for Shippensburg, which shot 57.1 percent (28-for-49) from the field and 87.1 percent (27-for-31) at the line to overcome 27 turnovers. Edgar and Akil Anderson both scored 14 points and Tyheim Perrin had 10.

Charles had nine assists and 10 turnovers as ESU held a +11 turnover margin (27-16) after entering at +5.2, one of the top 10 rates in Division II.

The Warriors shot 41.9 percent (26-for-62) overall but just 3-for-14 from the three-point line and 22-for-35 at the foul line. Shippensburg also held a 38-22 rebounding advantage, due in part to the number of turnovers forced by ESU.

GAME NOTES
* ESU's school-record 10-game road winning streak came in the first 10 road games in program history. The streak was ended by a 36-35 loss at Shippensburg on February 18, 1928.

* ESU's school-record 14-game winning streak overall came in the second through 15th games of the 1940-41 season.
* Three of the four longest single-season winning streaks have come in the last six years - 13 in 2007-08, 13 in 2009-10 and 14 this season.

* ESU's last road loss came on November 17 at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia - 60-53.
* ESU's last road loss to a PSAC school came on February 22, 2012 at Bloomsburg - 80-78 (OT).

Streaks ended Saturday:
* 14 games overall (tied for school record - 1940-41)
* 9 games on road (one from tying school record - 1926-27 through 1927-28)
* 14 games vs. PSAC (one from tying school record - 1940-41 through 1941-42)
* 14 games vs. PSAC "conference game" opponents (school record)
* 12 games vs. PSAC on road (school record - last 3 of 2011-12, first 9 of 2012-13)

* All 3 of the PSAC's ranked teams lost this week. #17 Gannon, which entered the rankings this week, lost at home to Edinboro, 67-64, on Wednesday. #11 IUP lost at Mercyhurst, 57-48, on Saturday.

* Grant averaged 20.8 ppg in ESU's 9 straight road wins (all vs. PSAC). He scored 18+ points in 8 of the 9 games, and had 20+ points in 6 games.
* Johnson has scored 10+ points in all 9 of the Warriors' PSAC road games in which he has played this season, including 25 in a 94-91 win at Cheyney on December 8 and 29 on Saturday at Shippensburg. He did not play (illness) in an 87-77 win at West Chester on February 2.