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WEST LIBERTY, W.V. - East Stroudsburg University's third trip to the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament in four years came to an end on Saturday in West Virginia, as IUP came away with a 76-68 win over the Warriors at West Liberty University.

Sophomore guard Whis Grant, the only underclassman on the Daktronics Atlantic Region first team, scored 26 points to lead the Warriors (22-7), who had made just one trip to the NCAA Tournament in school history before their run over the last four years.

Anthony Wells scored 22 points and Marcel Souberbielle had 16 points and eight rebounds to lead four players in double figures for IUP (25-5), which won the PSAC championship last weekend. The Crimson Hawks and host West Liberty are the only schools in the region with a better winning percentage than ESU's .689 (82-37) over the last four years.

Grant was 10-for-13 from the field and 3-for-5 from the three-point line to give him 68 three's this season, the second-most in school history. The PSAC East Athlete of the Year as a sophomore, he finishes the season averaging 17.6 points per game. He was ESU's top scorer with 13.9 ppg on last year's PSAC championship team.

Senior forwards Duane Johnson and Terrance King set a school record by playing in their 118th career game and played in their 12th postseason game, extending their record.  Todd Painton played in 117 games from 1988-92, which included ESU's only NCAA Tournament win in 1990.

Johnson and King both finish in the top 10 in school history in career scoring and rebounding. Johnson is 7th with 1,347 points and 9th with 608 rebounds, and King is 8th with 1,337 points and 7th with 692 rebounds. King also ranks 3rd at ESU and 10th in PSAC history with 180 blocks, and Johnson is one of two players to rank in the top 10 in both steals (4th, 148) and blocks (8th, 90).

Sophomore guard Matt Tobin scored all eight of his points in the second half and had a team-high five rebounds. Junior forward Zechariah Runkle added seven points, three rebounds and three assists and senior guard Blair Ramsey had four points and three assists off the bench.

IUP, the No. 3 seed, plays the winner of Saturday's second Atlantic Region quarterfinal between No. 2 seed Winston-Salem (N.C.) and No. 7 Slippery Rock. IUP is ranked No. 10 in the most recent NABC Division II Coaches Poll.

The Warriors won the regular season meeting, 57-55, on January 4 at Koehler Fieldhouse - the second game of a school record-tying 14-game winning streak.

ESU led 34-30 at halftime behind Grant's 16 first-half points, but IUP got off to a good start to the second half with a 9-2 run in just over three minutes.

The Crimson Hawks took the lead for good with 9:30 left on the last of Wells' six three-pointers, but the big shot was a triple by Devante Chance at the end of the shot clock that gave IUP a 60-56 lead with 6:38 left.

Josh Wiegand (12 points) scored IUP's next six and its largest advantage was eight (69-61) on a three-point play by Scooter Renkin (14 points) that fouled out Grant with 2:31 remaining.

The Warriors got it to 70-65 on a layup by sophomore forward Lamont Tillery with 1:45 left, and 72-68 on a three-pointer by Johnson with 42.7 seconds remaining, but were unable to dig any closer.

ESU shot 12-for-22 in the first half - led by Grant's 6-for-7 - and was 8-for-12 at the foul line to hold its 34-30 halftime lead.

The Warriors shot 48.0 percent (24-for-50) for the game with just 12 turnovers, but IUP shot 51.9 percent (27-for-52) and was largely able to handle their pressure, committing only 13 turnovers. IUP shot 64.0 percent (16-for-25) in the second half and 4-for-7 from the three-point line.

ESU's 2013 season included the third-most wins in school history (22), the third PSAC East regular season championship in school history, a fourth straight trip to the PSAC Final Four and third trip to the NCAA Division II Tournament in four years.

The Warriors' five seniors - Johnson, King, Ramsey, Gerald Bridges and Dan Clapp - won 82 games, the most in school history.


GAME NOTES  (Season and Career Highs  l  Updated School Records)

* ESU is one of four schools to advance to the Atlantic Regional in three of the last four years (2010, 2012-13) – along with West Liberty (2010-13), IUP (2010-13) and Winston-Salem (2011-13).

* Sr. F Gerald Bridges did not play due to illness - finishing his career with 109 games played (10th in school history) and 101 3-pointers.

* Jonathan Roberts scored 921 of his school-record 2,218 career points (1986-90) through two seasons, playing in 50 games.
* Grant scored 431 points as a freshman and 494 as a sophomore - averaging 15.7 points per game in 59 games - for his 925 points through two years.
* He was the PSAC East Athlete of the Year - just the 4th sophomore to be named the top player in either division in the PSAC since 1988.

* ESU has won one NCAA Tournament game in school history, upending Slippery Rock 99-98 (OT) in 1990.
* Slippery Rock beat Winston-Salem, 69-67, in Saturday's second game for its first NCAA Tournament win. The Rock plays IUP on Sunday at 5 p.m.

* Johnson played 3,267 minutes over four seasons, the most by an ESU player since at least 1990.

* Johnson (1,347), King (1,337) and Grant (925) combined for 3,609 career points - the 2nd-most by a trio of teammates in school history. In 1990, ESU had 4,113 points from Jonathan Roberts (2,218), Ed Urie (1,329) and Mike DelGrosso (566).

* ESU's 22 wins this year are the 3rd-most in school history. The Warriors were 24-6 in 2009-10, and 23-4 in 1972-73.

Other 2012-13 season highlights:
* 14-game winning streak (tied school record) from Dec. 19 to Feb. 13
* 11 straight PSAC road wins (school record) - including final 2 games of 2012
* 20-2 start (2nd-best ever) - securing 8th 20-win season in ESU history and 3rd in 4 years
* 6 straight weeks in NABC Top 25 (tied for longest stretch in Top 25)
* #9 ranking (highest ever) on Feb. 12