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Morning Call: East Stroudsburg men win 12th consecutive game

EAST STROUDSBURG – Sophomore guard Whis Grant scored 25 points, senior forward Duane Johnson had 19 points and seven rebounds and senior forward Terrance King added 16 points and six boards, leading No. 13-ranked East Stroudsburg University to an 83-72 win over Cheyney – its 12th straight victory – in PSAC East men's basketball on Wednesday night at Koehler Fieldhouse.

The Warriors (18-2, 15-1) own the fourth-longest active winning streak in Division II and secured the second-best 20-game start in school history, behind a 19-1 mark in 2009-10 – the only time ESU has had a higher national ranking.

Johnson (25), Grant (20) and King (20) combined for 65 points in a 94-91 win at Cheyney on December 8 and were at it again Wednesday night, going for 60 between them and shooting 17-for-32 from the field and 22-for-25 at the foul line.

Grant had 14 in the second half to go over the 20-point mark for the sixth time in nine games, leading the Warriors in all nine contests. He is averaging 20.6 points during the winning streak and has helped the Warriors win eight of the last nine by double figures – with the other game a nine-point victory.

Johnson got his 19 – his most since scoring 19 in an 81-62 win at Kutztown three weeks ago – on 3-for-5 shooting. He hit both of his three-pointers and was 11-for-11 at the foul line, the most makes without a miss by a Warrior since Johnson was 11-for-11 in a double-overtime win at Kutztown last season. He missed his first career game due to illness in an 87-77 victory at West Chester on Saturday but returned to play 33 minutes, second on the team to Grant's 39.

King scored 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting and also had three blocks. King (1,218) and Johnson (1,208) both passed John Grobelny (1,207 – 1965-68) on ESU's career scoring list, with King ranking 13th and Johnson 14th all-time.

King and Johnson are the second set of ESU teammates with 1,200+ career points, joining Jonathan Roberts (2,218) and Ed Urie (1,329) in 1989-90.

Sophomore guard Matt Tobin added nine points and five assists and senior forward Gerald Bridges had six points and six rebounds after scoring 15, one off his career-high, in Saturday's win at West Chester.

Jayvon Beaty scored 18 points to lead Cheyney, with Jason Sabb getting 16 and Deshawn Curtis scoring 13 off the bench. The Wolves (9-11, 7-9) had won four of their last five games but are ineligible for the PSAC Tournament this season.

The Warriors led for all but the first minute of the first half and took a 35-28 lead into the locker room. Grant converted a three-point play to open the second period – ESU's first lead of more than seven points in the contest – and the Warriors led by at least four points the rest of the way.

ESU broke it open with an 11-2 run from 7:12 to 4:30, pushing its advantage to 18 (75-57). Grant scored six points during the run, including four technical free throws, and Johnson sealed it with his second three-pointer of the game with just over two minutes left.

The Warriors extended their winning streak against PSAC opponents to 12 games, the second-longest in school history behind a 15-game stretch from 1940-41 through 1942-43. They also extended a record with their ninth straight win over Cheyney.

ESU improved to 31-5 overall, and 21-2 in the last two seasons, when Johnson and King – both All-PSAC East selections on last year's PSAC championship team – both score more than 10 points.

The Warriors host Kutztown (5-17, 4-12) in the second of a three-game homestand at Koehler Fieldhouse on Saturday at 3 p.m. The doubleheader will be broadcast live on Blue Ridge TV-13 beginning at 1 p.m.

ESU enters the weekend with a three-game lead over West Chester (14-6, 12-4) for the PSAC East regular season title. Millersville (15-7, 11-5) dropped a game back with a 100-94 (3OT) loss at Millersville.


GAME NOTES
* Bridges, Johnson and King extended their four-year record to 78-32. They set the school record for career wins on Saturday at West Chester. The previous record was 76, set from 2006-10 and 2008-12.

* Grant (25 - 17.8 ppg), Johnson (19 - 13.2 ppg) and King (16 - 13.2 ppg) all exceeded their season averages coming into the night.

* Grant now ranks 6th in the PSAC in scoring (18.2 ppg) after scoring 17+ for the 9th straight game. He is also 2nd in 3-point percentage (42.2, 49-116).
* Johnson (13.5 ppg) and King (13.4) are both averaging career-highs in scoring. King is 3rd in the PSAC in field goal percentage (59.8) and blocks per game (1.4).

* ESU improved to 41-11 at Koehler Fieldhouse in the last four years.

* ESU won 13 straight games during the 2009-10 season (first 13) and 2007-08 season, both under head coach Jeff Wilson. The single-season school record of 14 was set in 1940-41. The Warriors won 18 straight over two seasons from 1941-42 through 42-43.

* ESU's 12-game winning streak against PSAC schools is the second-longest in school history. The Warriors won 15 straight vs. PSAC schools from 1940-41 through 41-42.

* Entering the week, ESU trailed only Western Washington (26), Metropolitan State, Colo. (19) and Winona State, Minn. (14) in active winning streaks in Division II. There are 286 DII schools that sponsor men's basketball.

* The Warriors' #13 ranking is the second-highest in school history. They were ranked #12 for one week in February 2010, part of a six-week run in the national rankings.