Box Score

MILLERSVILLE - Freshman guard Najee Walls scored a season-high 16 points to lead four players in double figures as East Stroudsburg University secured the PSAC East's No. 3 seed in the PSAC Tournament and a 20-win season with an 80-75 win at Millersville on Wednesday night at Pucillo Gymnasium.

ESU (20-6, 16-6) will host No. 6 seed Lock Haven (12-14, 8-14) on Saturday at 3 p.m. in the second game of a PSAC Tournament doubleheader at Koehler Fieldhouse. ESU's women's team (14-12, 12-10), the No. 4 seed, hosts No. 5 Bloomsburg at 1 p.m.

Junior forward Steve Harris had 15 points and seven rebounds, junior forward Rasheed Moore had 13 points and 12 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season and the 11th of his career, and senior guard Jamal Nwaniemeka added 12 points for the Warriors.

ESU posted its 10th 20-win season in program history and fifth in the last seven years. For the first time in the last four years, the Warriors won't be the No. 1 seed in the PSAC East after winning three straight outright divisional titles.

The Warriors led nearly throughout on Wednesday night but couldn't put away the Marauders (4-22, 4-18), who were led by 18 points from Shawn Williams, 17 from Cornell Yarde and 14 from Ricky Mosley.

ESU held a 25-12 lead at the 13-minute mark of the first half and a 47-40 edge at halftime, but Millersville put together a 20-3 run spanning halftime - capped by a 13-0 stretch - to go ahead 53-49 with 13:44 remaining.

The Warriors scored the next eight points, and after a tie at 60-all, embarked on a 12-1 push for a 71-61 advantage with 5:53 remaining.

Millersville managed to cut the deficit to 76-73 with 2:27 left, but Nwaniemeka had a steal and layup to put the Warriors up five. After a defensive stop, Moore had an offensive rebound and ESU erased 45 seconds off the game clock, culminating in a jumper by Walls, for an 80-73 lead with 15.4 seconds left.

Walls, the PSAC's assist leader (5.6 per game), surpassed his previous season-high of 15 points in a win at Bloomsburg on December 1.

Walls was 7-for-9 from the field, Harris 4-for-5 and Moore 4-for-8 as ESU shot 50.9 percent (27-for-53) overall. The Warriors overcame a 21-18 turnover deficit but posted 13 steals, including four by Nwaniemeka.

Earlier Wednesday, ESU remained No. 8 in this week's NCAA Division II Atlantic Region rankings that will set the field for the NCAA Tournament in March. The top eight teams will advance to the Atlantic Regional.

GAME NOTES
* ESU has played in 6 straight PSAC Final 4's (2010-15), matching the PSAC's longest streak in 35 years (California, 1992-97)
* The Warriors will need to win two games in the four days to make it 7 straight
* ESU has won 2 of the last 4 PSAC championships (2012, 2014) and 3 in school history (1990)
* ESU won 3 straight outright PSAC East titles from 2013-15 (first PSAC East team to win 3 straight titles since Millersville 1985-87)
 
NCAA DII Atlantic Region rankings (DII record - in-region record)
1. Wheeling Jesuit - 24-1 (same)
2. West Liberty - 24-2 (same)
3. Fairmont State - 23-3 (same)
4. Kutztown - 18-5 (same)
5. West Chester - 20-4 (same)
6. IUP - 20-6 (same)
7. Virginia State - 18-5 (17-4)
8. ESU - 18-6 (same)
9. Concord - 18-8 (same)
10. Mercyhurst - 16-8 (same)


PSAC TOURNAMENT (East)

1st round - Saturday (Feb. 27)
3 p.m. - #3 ESU (20-6, 16-6) vs. #6 Lock Haven (12-14, 8-14)
3 p.m. - #4 Shippensburg (18-8, 15-7) vs. #5 Bloomsburg (17-9, 15-7)

Quarterfinals - Tuesday (March 1)
#4/#5 winner at #1 Kutztown (21-5, 18-4)
#3/#6 winner at #2 West Chester (21-5, 17-5)

Semifinals/Finals - Saturday-Sunday (March 5-6)
at PSAC East top remaining seed


ESU Men's Basketball 20-Win Seasons
1971 - 20-4
1972 - 20-4
1973 - 23-4
1990 - 21-13 (PSAC champions)
1992 - 21-7
2010 - 24-6
2012 - 20-12 (PSAC champions)
2013 - 22-7
2014 - 30-2 (PSAC champions)
2016 - 20-6 entering PSAC Tournament