Box Score

SHIPPENSBURG - Senior guard Whis Grant led a 14-2 run midway through the second half and East Stroudsburg University remained unbeaten in PSAC East play, pulling out a 73-69 win to survive a trip to Shippensburg's Heiges Field House on Wednesday night.
 
Redshirt senior guard Will Brown (13 points), junior guard Jamal Nwaniemeka (13), Grant (12) and senior forward Lamont Tillery (12) were all in double figures and senior guard Matt Tobin had eight points and seven assists for ESU (4-2, 3-0).

The Warriors trailed 54-48 with 13:05 left, then blitzed Shippensburg (4-2, 0-2) with a big run in the next five minutes to lead 62-56 at the 8:30 mark. Grant scored six points in the run, with a three-pointer and a three-point play, and had 10 of his 12 points in the second half.

Brown hit a three-pointer to give ESU a 65-60 lead with just over five minutes left, followed by two free throws by sophomore forward Rasheed Moore for a seven-point advantage.

Nwaniemeka made two key free throws, with had two straight offensive rebounds and a putback for a 71-67 lead with 1:45 remaining.

Ship's Dylan Edgar (14 points, 17 rebounds) made it 71-69 with 1:03 left, but the Warriors came up with two more offensive boards at the other end and Tobin made one-of-two for a 72-69 lead with 16 seconds left.

Shippensburg's chance at the game-tying three came up empty when Dustin Sleva turned the ball over with three seconds left, and Moore made one-of-two at the line to ice it.

ESU held a 21-10 advantage in turnovers and produced 16 steals, including five by Grant and four by Tobin. The Warriors had five steals in their five-minute burst midway through the second half.

Grant moved into third in school history in career points (1,564), passing Earle Greer, who scored 1,552 points from 1980-84. He entered the week ranked fourth among active DII players in career points.

Jay Hardy scored 17 points to lead four Red Raiders in double figures, along with Edgar (14), Justin McCarthur (13)  and Sleva (12). Abe Massaley had nine points, six assists and eight turnovers.

ESU led 35-34 after a tight first half, and the Warriors build a 39-34 lead before Ship stormed back with a 20-9 push to take its biggest lead with just over 13 minutes remaining.

Saturday's game vs. Bloomsburg will feature the only two remaining unbeaten teams in PSAC East play in ESU (4-2, 3-0) and the Huskies (6-0, 2-0). Bloomsburg won 97-87 at Cheyney and beat Shippensburg, 76-73, in its first two divisional games. The Huskies were idle on Wednesday.

GAME NOTES
* ESU improves to 39-3 since the start of 2012-13 when posting a turnover margin of +5 or better.
* ESU is 59-11 since the start of 2009-10 when posting a turnover margin of +5 or better.

* ESU's seniors improve to 76-23 since the start of 2011-12, tied for the 2nd-most wins by a 4-year class in program history.
* ESU's senior class from 2009-10 through 2012-13 (Duane Johnson, Terrance King, Gerald Bridges) had a 4-year record of 82-37.

* ESU is not ranked in this week's NABC DII poll. The Warriors were ranked for the previous 16 weeks (29 weeks in school history).

* Grant ranks 3rd at ESU in career points (1,564), 2nd in 3-pointers (218), 2nd in free throws made (370) and 4th in steals (157).

* Tobin ranks 4th in career assists (397) is 70 assists from the school record. He is also 7th in steals (142).

* Tillery and Tobin have played 99 career games, followed by Grant (97) and Muhamadou Kaba (90).