Box Score

WEST CHESTER - Senior guard Matt Tobin scored 12 of his season-high 22 points in the final 10 minutes and added seven assists, lifting East Stroudsburg University to an 82-76 win at West Chester and at least a share of the Warriors' third straight PSAC East regular season title on Wednesday night at Hollinger Field House.

Playing in the building where ESU won the 2012 PSAC championship, the Warriors secured the No. 1 seed in the PSAC East in the upcoming PSAC Tournament and will host a quarterfinal home game on Tuesday, March 3 at 7 p.m. at Koehler Fieldhouse.

ESU (17-8, 15-5) is the first school to win three straight PSAC East regular season titles since Millersville from 1985-87.

The Warriors scored the final six points after West Chester rallied from an eight-point deficit to tie the game at 74-74 and again at 76-76 with 54.1 seconds left.

ESU holds a 1.5 game lead over Kutztown (17-10, 14-7) and holds the tiebreaker over KU for the No. 1 seed if both schools finish at 15-7. ESU was 2-0 against West Chester, while KU was 0-2.

Junior guard Jamal Nwaniemeka (11 points) hit a three-pointer, then the Warriors got a defensive stop and Nwaniemeka made 1-for-2 at the foul line for an 80-76 lead with 24.0 seconds remaining.

Nwaniemeka stole the inbounds pass and West Chester sent ESU senior guard Whis Grant (10 points) to the line. Grant made 1-of-2 with 11.0 seconds left, then 1-for-2 again after WCU missed a three-pointer to set the final margin.

Sophomore forward Rasheed Moore had 15 points and seven rebounds to join Tobin, Grant and Nwaniemeka in double figures. Redshirt senior guard Will Brown scored nine points off the bench.

ESU led 38-34 at halftime, but West Chester controlled much of the second half before ESU's 12-0 run in a three-minute stretch late in the period.

Tobin, who was named the Lehigh Valley Small College Player of the Year on Tuesday for the second straight year, hit two three's in a two-minute span to tie the game at 60-all after WCU led 58-52 at the 9:59 mark.

It was 66-62 in favor of West Chester with 6:33 remaining before ESU's big surge. Tobin, Brown (4-4 FT) and Moore scored four points each in the run that gave the Warriors a 74-66 lead with 3:28 remaining.

West Chester scored the next eight points, seven from Cory Blake (25 points), to tie it at 74-all on a three-point play with 1:48 remaining.

After both teams turned it over, Grant had a steal and a jumper that put ESU ahead 76-74 with 1:01 left. Ben Mingledough scored for West Chester with 54.1 seconds remaining, but Nwaniemeka hit a huge three with 40.4 seconds left to break to the tie for good.

ESU improves to 48-10 in PSAC games in its historic three-year run. The Warriors won the 2013 PSAC East regular season title with an 18-4 conference record, then went 15-1 last winter to defend its title.

ESU can win its third straight outright PSAC East title with a win in either of its final two games, Saturday at Mansfield or next Wednesday (February 25) against Kutztown. The last school to win three straight outright PSAC East titles was Cheyney, who won five straight from 1976-80.

ESU held a 19-12 advantage in turnovers in a game that featured the top two scoring teams in the PSAC, with ESU leading the league with 84.8 ppg and West Chester second at 77.0 ppg.

ESU shot 47.4 percent (27-for-57) and made nine three-pointers, while West Chester shot 50.0 percent (28-for-56) with three three-pointers.

Tobin is the first ESU player with at least 22 points and seven assists in a game since Anthony Ross had 32 points and 12 assists in a 3OT game at California in 2004-05.

The Warriors improve to 12-2 against West Chester since the start of the 2009-10 season, including PSAC championship victories in 2012 (90-85 at WCU) and 2014 (92-80 at ESU). The Warriors are 6-1 in that stretch at Hollinger Field House.

ESU is 69-17 overall (48-10 PSAC) in the last three years, both the best marks in the PSAC East. West Chester ranks second in both categories at 54-30 (40-18 PSAC).


GAME NOTES
* ESU has won 5 PSAC East regular season titles in school history - 1992, 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2015.

* Head coach Jeff Wilson (13th year) has led ESU to 4 of the 5 regular season titles in program history.

* ESU has won 2 of the last 3 PSAC tournament championships (2012, 2014) and 3 in school history (also 1990).

* ESU has reached the NCAA DII Tournament in 3 straight seasons (2012, 2013, 2014) and also advanced in 2010 and 1990.

* ESU has advanced to 5 straight PSAC Final Four's (2010-14). The only school to reach 6 straight in the last 30 years is California (1992-97).

* ESU will host the winner of the No. 4/No. 5 first-round game (played on Saturday, Feb. 28) on Tuesday, March 3 at 7 p.m. at Koehler Fieldhouse.

* Sr. F Lamont Tillery and Sr. G Matt Tobin tied a school record for games played (118), matching the record set by Duane Johnson and Terrance King from 2009-13.

* ESU is 89-29 in the last 4 years (2011-12 thru 2014-15) - a school record for wins in a 4-year stretch. The Warriors were 88-33 from 2010-11 thru 2013-14.

* ESU improves to 48-10 in countable PSAC games the last 3 years - 25-4 at home and 23-6 on the road.
* ESU is 40-6 against PSAC East schools the last 3 years, with 31 wins by 10 points.
* ESU with 5 turnover margin: 47-5 since 2012-13 ... 67-13 since 2009-10.

* Tobin (1,027 points, 525 assists) became the 1st player in ESU history (11th in PSAC history) with 1,000 points and 500 assists on Saturday against Cheyney.
* Tobin leads the PSAC in assists (6.3 apg) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.5) for the 2nd straight year.
* His 525 career assists rank 12th in PSAC history.

* ESU has 6 players with 700 career points (prior to this year, ESU's 1971-72 team was the only one to dress 5 500-point scorers):
1805 - Whis Grant
1027 - Matt Tobin
763 - Rasheed Moore
716 - Will Brown
714 - Lamont Tillery
703 - Jamal Nwaniemeka

* Grant's current ESU rankings:
1805 points (2nd)
261 3-pointers (1st)
408 FT made (2nd)
330 assists (7th)
192 steals (3rd)

* Tobin's current ESU rankings:
525 assists (1st) - 12th in PSAC history
187 steals (5th)
1027 points (25th)
113 3-pointers (8th)