Box Score

BLOOMSBURG - All-America junior guard Whis Grant scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half as No. 8-ranked East Stroudsburg University extended its school-record start to 16-0 with a 74-63 win at Bloomsburg in PSAC East men's basketball on Wednesday night at Nelson Field House.

Junior guard Matt Tobin, the reigning PSAC East Co-Athlete of the Week, added 17 points and four assists and freshman forward Rasheed Moore had 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Warriors (16-0, 6-0), who also set a mark for their best-ever PSAC East start.

ESU entered the night tied with No. 3-ranked Florida Southern for the longest active winning streak in Division II. Florida Southern improved to 16-0 with a 92-86 win at Saint Leo (Fla.).

The Warriors were playing with the highest national ranking in school history at No. 8 in this week's NABC Division II Coaches Poll. They are the final unbeaten among the 18 schools in the PSAC after No. 5 IUP lost at Gannon, 67-61 (OT).

ESU led 28-25 at halftime before scoring 46 second-half points to post its 14th win by double figures, and give head coach Jeff Wilson his 199th career win.

Grant scored eight of ESU's first 12 points in the second half as the Warriors stretched a three-point advantage to 40-31 in the first three minutes. They led by at least seven the rest of the way, with the biggest margin (62-45) coming after Tobin hit two free throws and a three-pointer around the six-minute mark.

Sophomore guard Jamal Nwaniemeka scored nine points and junior forward Lamont Tillery had seven points and a career-high nine rebounds off the bench.

ESU, which made 40 three-pointers in its last three games, was just 6-for-21 from long distance but still finished at 45.8 percent (27-for-59) by going 21-for-38 inside the three-point line.

The Warriors had a 44-30 rebounding advantage and 22-21 edge in turnovers. ESU's 21 turnovers match its total from the last three games, which included a pair of 30-point victories.

Alssene Saintilus had 21 points to lead Bloomsburg (8-6, 4-1), which entered tied with ESU for the PSAC East lead.

ESU is away from action on Saturday and returns home to host Cheyney next Wednesday (Jan. 22) at 8 p.m. at Koehler Fieldhouse.


GAME NOTES

* ESU's 16-0 start is the best in the PSAC since 1994-95, when IUP opened with a 21-0 record.

* ESU's 6-0 PSAC East record is the best divisional start in school history. The Warriors opened 5-0 in 2005-06.

* Grant (23.3 ppg) and Moore (13.5 ppg, 10.5 rpg) lead the Warriors in their 6 PSAC East games. ESU has an average margin of victory of 20.0 points (90.7 ppg to 70.7 ppg) against the East, with all 6 wins by double figures.

* ESU is ranked in the top 10 in DII for the 5th week in program history. The Warriors were ranked No. 10 the last two weeks, and were ranked in the top 10 twice during the 2012-13 season.

* Head coach Jeff Wilson improves to 199-127 in his 12th season. He ranks second in school history in career wins behind Ken Sisson (215-245 in 19 years – 1963-78, 79-83).

* ESU's previous record for an unbeaten start was 13-0, set in 2009-10.

* ESU's 16 straight wins marks the longest single-season streak in school history. The Warriors had an 18-game winning streak spanning the 1941-42 and 1942-43 seasons, and a 16-game streak spanning 1931-32 and 1932-33.
* ESU's 1940-41 and 2012-13 teams both had 14-game win streaks.

* ESU's 12 straight wins against PSAC schools this year are the 3rd-most in school history. The Warriors won 15 straight vs. PSAC schools spanning the 1940-41 and 1941-42 seasons, and 14 straight last year (2012-13).

* The Warriors have an all-time record of 995-975 as they approach the 1,000th win in program history.

* The Warriors are 98-37 since the start of the 2009-10 season.

* Tobin was PSAC East Co-Athlete of the Week with 20 points, 24 assists and 3 turnovers in two wins last week. Tobin had 9 points and 13 assists in an 81-68 win at UPJ, and 11 points and 11 assists in a 101-71 win over Shippensburg.

* Grant scored 20 points for the 5th time this year and the 21st time in his career. ESU is 17-4 when Grant tops the 20-point mark.
* He ranks 16th at ESU with 1,197 career points. John Grobelny is 15th with 1,207 (1965-68).

* Grant tied Juwan Justice (1998-02) for 2nd on ESU's career 3-point list with 162. Andy Heimbach (2006-10) holds the school record with 236.

* Grant tied Trevin Panaia (1993-97) for 10th on ESU's career steals list with 125.

* ESU has won 14 of its 16 games by double figures, with an average margin of victory of 20.7 points per game (87.3 ppg to 66.6 ppg).
* During ESU's 14-game winning streak last year (2012-13), ESU had an average margin of 15.5 points per game (79.0 to 63.5).
* During ESU's 14-game winning streak in 1940-41, ESU had an average margin of 21.8 points per game (60.3 to 38.5)