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EAST STROUDSBURG - Sophomore guard Kitt Najee Walls had 13 points and four assists and led a game-ending 17-7 run as East Stroudsburg University ground out a 62-53 win over Slippery Rock in PSAC men's basketball on Saturday afternoon at Koehler Fieldhouse.

Walls had 11 points in the second half, including five points and all four of his assists in the Warriors' finishing run in the final six minutes as ESU (12-4, 10-1) kept pace in the PSAC East divisional standings with a victory in its final crossover game of the year.

The Warriors travel to No. 8-ranked Shippensburg (15-0, 11-0), the PSAC East leader, on Wednesday with a chance to move back into a tie for the top spot. ESU had opened the PSAC schedule 9-0 before a 92-87 loss to No. 14 Kutztown on Wednesday, trimming a 25-point deficit to one before falling in the final minute.

Slippery Rock (10-7, 6-5) led 28-22 at halftime, controlling the pace in a match-up of the PSAC's top scoring team (ESU, 90.4 ppg) and top defensive team (SRU, 64.0 ppg). Christal Malalu had 17 points and 14 rebounds and Merdic Green added 15 points to lead the Rock.

ESU used a 10-0 run early in the second half to surge to its first lead since 2-0, and then closed strong over the final six minutes.

Redshirt sophomore forward Chris Bing had 10 points, his first double-figure game since November 28 vs. PSU Wilkes-Barre, and added seven rebounds and two blocks for ESU.

Redshirt sophomore guard Jakwan Jones had nine points, senior forward Rasheed Moore scored eight (all in the second half), junior forward Ralik Wise had seven and redshirt senior guard Quindell Brice and redshirt junior forward Steven Stoney added six points each for the Warriors.

ESU, second in the PSAC in turnover margin (+5.3), had an 18-10 edge in turnovers, while Slippery Rock, the PSAC leader in rebounding margin (+10.3), won the rebounding battle 39-22 in a contrast of two styles.

Slippery Rock led by as many as eight in the first half and took a six-point advantage to the locker room after Khyree Wooten made three free throws with 0.3 seconds left.

Green gave SRU another eight-point lead (30-22) on its first possession of the second half, but ESU answered with 10 straight - a jumper by Moore (18.7 ppg) for his first points of the game, a three by Walls, two free throws by Stoney, a free throw by Walls and then a steal and jumper by Walls - to take a 32-30 lead with 16:20 remaining.

There were four ties in the next five minutes before junior guard Ryan Krawczeniuk hit a three-pointer for his only points of the game to give ESU a 41-38 lead with 11:17 left.

SRU battled back to lead 46-45 with 5:59 left on a layup by Malalu, but Moore hit a three the next time down, assisted by Walls, to give the Warriors a 48-46 lead with 5:45 remaining that they would never relinquish.

Walls set up a jumper by Brice, and after Malalu split a pair of free throws, Walls hit a three-pointer for a 53-47 lead (ESU's biggest of the game to that point) at the 4:18 mark.

Brice made two technical free throws on the SRU bench after the under-four media timeout for a 55-47 lead with 3:31 remaining.

The Rock cut it to six on a putback by Malalu under the three-minute mark, but Walls answered again, assisting on two buckets by Wise - a jumper and a layup after an SRU turnover - to make it 59-49 with 1:22 left.

A Slippery Rock three by Green trimmed the margin to 59-52 with 54 seconds to go, but Walls made two free throws, then Moore split a pair after a defensive rebound to keep the Warriors comfortably in front.

All told, ESU outscored SRU 40-25 in the second half, shooting 13-for-28 from the field, including four three-pointers, and going 10-for-12 at the free throw line. SRU was 2-for-9 at the line after intermission and 5-for-12 for the game.

The Warriors shot 43.8 percent (21-for-48) with five three-pointers and were 15-for-19 at the foul line overall, while SRU shot a better percentage (46.0 percent - 23-for-50) with two three's.

ESU's 18-10 turnover margin, including 8-2 in the second half, helped make the difference.

ESU improves to 6-1 at Koehler Fieldhouse this season (5-1 in PSAC games) and 90-20 at home (55-17 PSAC) since the start of the 2009-10 season.