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EAST STROUDSBURG – The PSAC East men's basketball title will be decided on the final day of the regular season after West Chester came away with an 83-76 win over No. 10-ranked East Stroudsburg University on Saturday afternoon at Koehler Fieldhouse.

ESU (20-5, 17-4) hosts Bloomsburg and West Chester (19-7, 17-4) visits Cheyney on Wednesday with the two schools tied for the division lead. Wins by both teams would give West Chester, which has won 14 of its last 16 games, the division's No. 1 seed in the PSAC Tournament, while losses by both teams would give ESU the No. 1 seed.

Sophomore guard Whis Grant scored 22 points and senior forward Terrance King had 20 points and 12 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season and the 15th of his career, but the Warriors dropped their third straight after a school record-tying 14-game winning streak since December 19 which ended last Saturday at Shippensburg.

ESU won the first meeting between the two schools, 87-77, at West Chester on February 2, finishing the game on a 20-9 run over the final four minutes in a rematch of last year's PSAC championship game won by the Warriors, 90-85.

On Saturday, the Warriors cut an 11-point second-half deficit to one on three occasions in the final 10 minutes – the last at 67-66 with just over six minutes to go – but were never able to take the lead.

West Chester had four players in double figures in Jon Breeden (17 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists), Carl Johnson (16 points), Jaleel Mack (13 points) and Corey Blake (13 points, 7 rebounds).

Johnson and Breeden combined for 17 of West Chester's final 18 points, with Johnson scoring 11 in that stretch. He converted a three-point play after triple by ESU sophomore forward Lamont Tillery cut it to one first the final time, scored again after ESU made it 73-69 on a jumper by Grant, and made two free throws after the Warriors made it 78-75 with 2:30 to go.

Breeden made a pair of free throws at the 5:32 mark to put West Chester up six (72-66) and re-established the six-point lead just over two minutes later, hitting a long three-pointer after Grant hit a three for the Warriors.

Grant scored 17 of his 22 in the second half for ESU, while King had 12 of his 20 in the first half. Senior forward Duane Johnson added 11 points and seven rebounds and Tillery had nine points and four rebounds off the bench. Sophomore guard Matt Tobin had five points and seven assists.

ESU was 0-for-10 with eight turnovers in the early going but kept it in at the foul line, finishing the day 34-for-45 at the line. King was 12-for-14. West Chester was 27-for-33 at the stripe, led by Breeden's 9-for-10 performance.

A win on Wednesday against Bloomsburg would give the Warriors at least a share of the third PSAC East regular season title in school history, joining their 1992 and 2010 teams. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m.

GAME NOTES
* The PSAC's 12 playoff teams are now set - 6 in each division. This is the first season that the top 6 (of 8) schools in each division qualify for the postseason. Cheyney was ineligible for playoff consideration this year.
* In the PSAC East, ESU and West Chester will be the No. 1/2 seeds, depending on Wednesday's results. Millersville (17-10, 13-8) is No. 3 and Bloomsburg (8-17, 6-15), Mansfield (8-17, 6-15) and Shippensburg (7-18, 5-16) will be the bottom three seeds.
* In the PSAC West, IUP (20-5, 16-5) and Slippery Rock (19-6, 16-5) are tied for the division lead after Slippery Rock's 70-69 win on Saturday. Gannon (21-6, 15-6) could also get up to a top-two seed. Edinboro (16-9, 12-9) and Mercyhurst (16-11, 12-9) will be No. 4/5 and California (11-14, 10-11) is No. 6.

* The top two seeds on each side receive first-round byes for games that will be played on Saturday, March 2. Quarterfinal games will be played Tuesday, March 5 and the PSAC Final Four will be held March 8-9 at the highest remaining seed in the PSAC West.

* Johnson (1,291) and King (1,288) have both moved into the top 10 in school history in career scoring, passing Al Munford (1,285 - 1994-98).
* King ranks 7th in rebounds (670) and 3rd in blocked shots (176). He is one block from moving into the PSAC's top 10 in career blocks. He is also currently tied for 3rd in career field goal percentage (56.6) and ranks 7th in free throws made (295) and 6th in free throws attempted (454).
* Johnson is 11th in rebounds (585), one from tying Lonnie White (1989-93) for the 10th spot. He is 4th in steals (145) and 9th in blocks (84), one of two players to rank in the top 10 in both categories along with Jonathan Roberts (1986-90). He is 3rd in free throws made (349) and 5th in free throws attempted (463).

* Grant had his 9th 20-point game of the season and 14th of his career. He leads the Warriors and is 6th in the PSAC with 17.7 points per game.
* King had his 4th 20-point game of the season and 11th of his career. He is 3rd on the team with 13.5 ppg, leads the PSAC in field goal percentage (58.0), is 3rd in blocks (1.4) and 9th in rebounding (7.2).
* Johnson is averaging 14.2 points and 6.3 rebounds, both 2nd on the team.

* King and Johnson played in their 114th career games, tied for 2nd in school history with Ed Urie (1985-90). Todd Painton holds the record with 117 (1988-92).
* Sr. F Gerald Bridges has played in 106 games, one away from breaking into the top 10.