Box Score  l  NCAA Atlantic Region rankings (Feb. 20)

MILLERSVILLE - Millersville opened a 63-32 lead with 11:30 left and held off No. 10-ranked East Stroudsburg University, dealing the Warriors their second straight loss, 79-69, in PSAC East men's basketball on Wednesday night at Pucillo Gymnasium.

The Warriors (20-4, 17-3), who had school record-tying 14-game winning streak end on Saturday at Shippensburg, lead West Chester (18-6, 16-4) by one game in the PSAC East and host the Golden Rams on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Koehler Fieldhouse. West Chester has won five straight and 13 of 15 going into Saturday, including ESU's 87-77 win at Hollinger Field House on February 2.

ESU won its first nine PSAC road games before dropping the last two. The Warriors are home for their final two regular season games, Saturday vs. West Chester and next Wednesday vs. Bloomsburg, and will be home for their PSAC quarterfinal game on Tuesday, March 5 at 7 p.m. at Koehler Fieldhouse.

Larry Grant and Nate Bollinger both scored 20 points and Elijah Obade had 17 points and 15 rebounds for Millersville (17-9, 13-7), which was coming off an overtime win at Kutztown on Monday night. The Marauders shot 56.3 percent (27-for-48) from the field to offset 25 turnovers, including 14 in the second half.

ESU won the first meeting, 68-52, on January 23 at Koehler Fieldhouse and led 37-13 at halftime - which Millersville turned around for a 42-19 halftime lead on Wednesday.

The Marauders built their largest lead (31) with 11:30 remaining before the Warriors closed with a 37-16 run. They pulled within 14 (69-55) with 2:43 left, but a three-point play by Grant with 2:09 left - Millersville's first field goal since the nine-minute mark - ended a 14-2 run for the Warriors.

Millersville was just 5-for-10 at the foul line in the final minute after sophomore guard Whis Grant (18 points) hit a three to make it 74-63 with 1:12 remaining, but the Marauders closed it out.

Grant, who missed Saturday's loss at Shippensburg, played 33 minutes off the bench and led the Warriors in scoring for the 13th time in 24 games. He leads ESU and ranks sixth in the PSAC in scoring with 17.5 points per game.

Senior forward Duane Johnson had 17 points and six rebounds and senior forward Terrance King had 10 points and five rebounds. Sophomore guard Matt Tobin scored nine points and sophomore forward Lamont Tillery added nine points off the bench.

ESU shot 35.3 percent (24-for-68) and 43.9 percent in the second half, after shooting 22.2 percent in the opening period. Millersville held a 42-29 rebounding advantage and had 12 offensive rebounds, while ESU had 10 defensive boards.

ESU was ranked No. 4 in the first NCAA DII Atlantic Region rankings, which were released Wednesday.

Saturday's game against West Chester - who ESU beat 90-85 in last year's PSAC championship game - tips off at 3 p.m.


GAME NOTES
* ESU had been 22-0 over the last 2 seasons when Johnson and King both scored 10+ points. Both players hit 10+ in each of the last two games, both losses - dropping the Warriors' record in such games to 22-2.

* ESU has lost consecutive games for the first time since February 18-22 of last season - 71-65 at West Chester, and 80-78 (OT) at Bloomsburg.
* The Warriors finished the regular season last year with a 77-66 win over Cheyney, then won three straight games to earn the PSAC championship.
* ESU's streak of 29 games without consecutive losses is the second-longest at ESU in 40 years. The Warriors went 30 games from 2008-09 through 2009-10. The longest stretch before that was 42 games, during the 1970-71 through 1971-72 seasons.

* The Warriors have a +20 turnover margin over the last 2 games, but have yielded 55%+ shooting in both games - 57.1 at Shippensburg, and 56.3 at Millersville. They forced 27 turnovers and had a +11 advantage at Shippensburg, and 25 turnovers and a +9 advantage at Millersville.