Halftime of men's game: ESU recognizes standout student-athletes


WOMEN -- 6:00 PM  (Live Stats  l  Twitter)

FINAL -- West Chester 75, ESU 69  (Box Score)

EAST STROUDSBURG - West Chester rallied from a 47-30 deficit with 16 minutes left to earn a 75-69 win at East Stroudsburg University in the final PSAC East women's basketball action of the regular season on Wednesday night at Koehler Fieldhouse.

Junior forward Jessica Martin had 20 points and 16 rebounds for her 11th double-double of the season and senior guard Halie Cintron added a career-high 15 points on five three-pointers for the Warriors (14-12, 9-7), who travel to Millersville for the first round of the PSAC Tournament on Saturday at 1 p.m.

West Chester sophomore guard Dallas Ely, the PSAC's leading scorer with 19.4 points per game, scored all 21 of her points in the second half for the Golden Rams (18-8, 13-3), who will be the PSAC East's No. 2 seed and gain a first-round bye. Kendall Benovy added 20 points and 10 rebounds for West Chester.

ESU led 39-26 at halftime, closing the first half on a 27-9 run over the final 10 minutes, and led 47-30 at the 16-minute mark before West Chester came back, as Ely scored 21 of WCU's final 42 points.

Millersville won 74-63 at Shippensburg to secure the PSAC East's No. 4 seed and a home game with the Warriors. The two schools split their regular season meetings, with each winning on its home court, and Millersville edged ESU 42-31 in the first round of the PSAC Tournament last season.


ESU:     Schedule  l  Statistics  l  Roster
WCU:   Schedule  l  Statistics  l  Roster

THE MATCH-UP: East Stroudsburg University hosts West Chester on Senior Night at Koehler Fieldhouse. The Warriors have clinched a PSAC Tournament berth and need a win tonight, and a Millersville loss at Shippensburg, to earn the #4 seed and host Millersville on Saturday at 1 p.m. ESU and Millersville split the season series and Millersville holds the tiebreaker with a win over PSAC East champion Bloomsburg.

West Chester (17-8, 12-3) holds a one-game lead over Ship for the PSAC East's #2 seed and needs a win, or Millersville loss, to earn a first-round bye.

LAST TIME OUT: Fr. F Allison Howard had 18 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 steals and 3 blocks, and Jr. F Jessica Martin added 17 points and 9 rebounds, in ESU's 72-65 win at Cheyney on Saturday. The win gives ESU (14-11, 9-6) a winning season for the first time since 2006-07 (25-4).

WARRIORS NOTES: ESU will recognize seniors Steph Cabald, Halie Cintron, Michelle Thomas and Andrea Veres before tonight's game ... ESU leads the PSAC in field goal % defense (37.4) and blocks (5.1), ranks 2nd in 3-point defense (27.1), 3rd in steals (10.6) and 4th in scoring defense (62.4) ... Martin (12.8 ppg, 8.6 rpg) leads the PSAC and is 8th in DII in blocks (2.8) ... her 205 career blocks are 10th in PSAC history ... Howard (11.3 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 52.3 fg%) is a 4-time PSAC East Athlete of the Week ... Martin and Howard are both 5-for-20 from the 3-point line and 73-for-104 at the foul line ... Cintron scored career-high 13 points at Cheyney ... Jr. G Ryann Fiascki averages 9.1 ppg.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN RAMS: WCU leads the PSAC in scoring (81.0 ppg) led So. G Dallas Ely (19.4 ppg, 1st in PSAC) and So. G Brittany Sicinski (14.9, 10th) ... Ely had 26 and Sicinski 20 in WCU's 83-68 win vs. ESU on Jan. 25 ... Jr. F Kendall Benovy adds 12.4 ppg ... Golden Rams lead PSAC in steals (12.7) led by So. G Jasmen Clark (68), Ely (66) and Sicinski (58).


MEN -- 8:00 PM  (Live Stats  l  Twitter)

FINAL -- #3 ESU 74, West Chester 71  (Box Score)

EAST STROUDSBURG - Redshirt junior guard Will Brown scored a career-high 25 points, leading No. 3-ranked East Stroudsburg University to a 74-71 win over West Chester and a school-record 25th win on Wednesday night at Koehler Fieldhouse.

ESU (25-1, 15-1) surpassed its 2009-10 team that finished with a 24-6 record, holding off the Golden Rams down the stretch in the regular season finale. The Warriors had already secured their second straight PSAC East regular season title.

Junior forward Lamont Tillery and freshman forward Rasheed Moore added 13 points each and senior forward Zechariah Runkle had nine points and 10 rebounds for the Warriors, including a key basket at the end of the shot clock and a three-point play in the final two minutes.

ESU will host Lock Haven or Millersville in a PSAC quarterfinal game on Tuesday, March 4 at 7 p.m. at Koehler Fieldhouse. The PSAC East's top remaining seed after the quarterfinals will host the PSAC Final Four on March 8-9.



ESU:     Schedule  l  Statistics  l  Roster
WCU:   Schedule  l  Statistics  l  Roster

THE MATCH-UP: PSAC East champion ESU (24-1, 14-1), ranked No. 3 in Division II, finishes the regular season against 2nd-place West Chester (18-7, 11-4) tonight at Koehler Fieldhouse. The Warriors are tied for the school record in wins with their 2009-10 team (24-6) which won the first of 3 PSAC East titles in the last 5 years.

LAST TIME OUT: Jr. G Whis Grant scored 24 points, including a huge 3-pointer with 26.4 seconds left, in ESU's 82-73 win at Cheyney on Saturday. Fr. F Rasheed Moore added 18 points and ESU finished with a 7-0 run.

WARRIORS NOTES: ESU will recognize its only senior, Zechariah Runkle, prior to tonight's game ... ESU is ranked in the top 10 in DII for the 9th straight week, and 11th in school history ... its #3 ranking is tied for the highest ever (Feb. 4, 2014) ... Warriors were the final undefeated team in DII this year (20-0) ... ESU will host a PSAC quarterfinal game next Tuesday vs. either Lock Haven or Millersville ... PSAC East's top remaining seed after Tuesday will host the PSAC Final 4 on March 8-9 ... ESU has 9 seasons with 20+ wins, including 4 in the last 5 years ... Warriors have 66 wins in the last 3 years, the most in school history ... ESU has won 4 PSAC East regular season titles (1992, 2010, 2013, 2014) and 2 PSAC Tournament titles (1990, 2012) ... Jr. G Matt Tobin was named the Lehigh Valley's Small College Player of the Year last week ... he leads PSAC in assists (5.9), assist-turnover ratio (2.7) and steals (2.2) ... Grant is 5th in PSAC in scoring (17.5 ppg) and ranks 7th in ESU history with 1,363 career points ... ESU leads DII in turnover margin (+7.8).

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN RAMS: ESU won the 1st meeting, 107-94, finishing on a 22-3 run as Grant scored 31 (career-high) ... Sr. G Troy Hockaday (16.2 ppg) scored 28 for WCU ... Jr. G Cory Blake (13.2), Sr. G Shannon Givens (11.6) and Gr. G R.J. Griffin (10.3) also average double figures ... ESU and WCU have represented PSAC East in Final 4 in each of the last 2 years.