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Morning Call: ESU methodically puts away Millersville
Pocono Record: ESU reaches PSAC semis

EAST STROUDSBURG – Sophomore guard Jamal Nwaniemeka scored 21 points, junior guard Whis Grant scored 16 and junior guard Matt Tobin had 11 points and a career-high 14 assists, leading No. 2-ranked East Stroudsburg University to a 78-58 win over Millersville and its fifth straight berth in the PSAC men's basketball Final Four on Tuesday night at Koehler Fieldhouse.

ESU (26-1) hosts the Final Four on Saturday and Sunday, with game times at 1 and 3:30 p.m. for the semifinals and 3:30 p.m. for the final.

The Warriors will host Mercyhurst on Saturday at 3:30 after the Lakers won at IUP, 67-56, on Tuesday night. Gannon, the No. 1 seed in the PSAC West, faces West Chester (PSAC East #2) in the first semifinal at 1 p.m. Gannon oulasted Slippery Rock, 73-69 (2OT), and West Chester survived a late Bloomsburg rally, 99-89.

ESU is the third PSAC school to advance to five straight Final Four's in the last 30 years, joining California (6 straight, 1992-97) and Bloomsburg (5 straight, 1998-02).

The backcourt handled the scoring load, with Nwaniemeka, Grant, Tobin and redshirt junior guard Will Brown (nine points) combining for 57 of ESU's 78 points.

Up front, junior forward Lamont Tillery (nine points, 10 rebounds), senior forward Zechariah Runkle (five points, nine rebounds) and freshman forward Rasheed Moore (five points, five rebounds) had 19 points and 24 boards, helping the Warriors to a 42-30 advantage on the glass.

Tobin's 14 assists are a career-high and the most in the PSAC this year, surpassing his 13 assists in an 81-68 win at Pitt-Johnstown on January 8. He had his third double-double of the year and added four steals to his PSAC-leading total.

ESU led 38-32 at intermission after a back-and-forth half, as Millersville took a 15-13 lead at the 7:20 mark and trailed just 29-27 with 2:30 left before the Warriors closed with a 9-5 run. Brown hit a three, then Tillery had a steal to set up a layup by redshirt junior Muhamadou Kaba, and Tobin made 3-of-4 free throws after Millersville head coach Fred Thompson was ejected for an eight-point burst in just 19 seconds.

Millersville never got closer than five the rest of the way, but the Warriors had to work to close out their 26th win of the season.  Consecutive three's by Brown made it 62-47 with 8:43 left for ESU's biggest lead of the game to that point, but Millersville scored the next seven to close the margin to eight (62-54) with just over six minutes remaining.

The Marauders (13-14) battled back from a 19-point deficit with 16 minutes left in an 81-75 win at Lock Haven in the first round on Saturday, but weren't able to do it twice in four days.

ESU scored seven straight points, on two free throws by Tobin, two by Runkle and a three-pointer by Nwaniemeka, to push the lead back to 15 (71-56) with 3:31 left.

Nwaniemeka, a transfer from Division I Rider, had his third 20-point game of the year for the Warriors with 21, going 8-for-14 from the field and 3-for-7 from the three-point line.

Grant, ESU's top scorer (16.9 ppg), averaged 23 in two wins over Millersville in the regular season and added 16 points on four three-pointers and four free throws, along with four assists.

Tobin was 7-for-8 from the line as part of his 11 points, and Brown knocked down three three-pointers, including two in the key stretch in the second half.

Tillery was one point short of his first career double-double, setting a career-high with 10 boards.

Carl Wallace and Tyree Smith both scored 16 points and Kelvin Parker had 10 points and nine rebounds to lead Millersville.


GAME NOTES
* ESU's No. 2 ranking is the highest in school history, and the highest for a PSAC school since IUP was No. 2 on March 9, 2010.

* ESU will host the PSAC Final 4 for the second time in school history. The Warriors also hosted in 2010, falling to IUP (67-63) in the semifinals.

* ESU will make its 8th trip to the PSAC Final 4, and its 5th consecutive.

* The Warriors are seeking their 3rd PSAC title in school history to go with championships in 1990 and 2012. ESU has played in the championship game twice, winning both.

* ESU won its only meeting with Mercyhurst this year, 60-54, on December 21 at Koehler Fieldhouse.
* ESU beat Mercyhurst, 66-58, in the semifinals in 2012 at West Chester, before beating the host Golden Rams 90-85 for the title.

* ESU improves to 14-0 at Koehler Fieldhouse this year, and has won 16 straight home games dating to last season.

* 21 of ESU's 25 victories have come by double figures. The Warriors were 4th in DII in scoring margin (+18.3) entering the week.

* The Warriors have won 68 games in the last 3 years (68-20), the most in school history. The 1970-71 through 72-73 teams were 63-12.

* The Warriors are 108-38 since the start of the 2009-10 season.

* ESU won its 2nd straight PSAC East regular season title this winter, and the 4th in school history (1992, 2010, 2013, 2014).
 
* ESU has 9 seasons with 20+ wins, including a school-record 26 this year. The previous record was 24-6 in 2010.

* Jeff Wilson, 209-128 in his 12th season, ranks 2nd at ESU in career victories.
* Ken Sisson holds the career record with 215, going 215-245 in 19 years (1963-78, 79-83).

* ESU is ranked in the top 10 in DII for the 10th straight week, and the 12th week in program history.
* ESU is ranked in the top 25 for the 14th straight week, after being ranked for 13 weeks in program history previously.

* ESU has won 6 straight since its only loss of the season, 82-80 at Lock Haven on February 6.
* ESU was the final undefeated team in DII this season.
* ESU's 20-game win streak to start the season was the PSAC's longest since 1994-95, when IUP opened 21-0.
* The last PSAC team to go undefeated in the regular season was Cheyney (24-0) in 1965-66.

* ESU led DII in turnover margin (+7.7) entering the week. Turnovers were tied, 12-12, on Tuesday night.
* When holding a turnover margin of +5 or greater, ESU is: 18-1 this year, 33-3 the last 2 years, and 53-11 since the start of the 2009-10 season.

* Tobin moved into a tie for 5th at ESU in single-season assists (170), and one away from 5th in career assists (333).