Box Score

Related: ESU 10th in first set of NCAA DII Atlantic Region rankings (below)

KUTZTOWN - East Stroudsburg University pulled within two points with less than 30 seconds left, but No. 6-ranked Kutztown held off the Warriors' road comeback bid by a 96-92 score in PSAC East men's basketball on Wednesday night at Keystone Arena.

Kutztown (21-2, 17-2), which won its 13th straight game since a 97-82 loss vs. Shippensburg on December 30, moves into the PSAC East lead after Ship (21-3, 17-3) fell 93-70 at West Chester.

The Warriors will be the No. 3 seed in the PSAC East in the upcoming PSAC Tournament following Wednesday night's results. ESU can finish tied for first or second in the division, but would lose out on tiebreakers for one of the top two spots.

ESU will host a first round PSAC Tournament game on Monday, February 27 at Koehler Fieldhouse.

Senior forward Rasheed Moore had 22 points and eight rebounds, scoring 14 points in the second half, and moved into fourth at ESU in career points (1,561) to lead the Warriors in a match-up of the PSAC's top two scoring teams, both entering averaging 89.4 points per game.

Sophomore guard Kitt Najee Walls had 16 points, three rebounds, four assists and four steals, redshirt senior guard Quindell Brice had 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists, redshirt sophomore forward Chris Bing had 13 points and seven boards and junior guard Ryan Krawczeniuk had 11 points, five assists and three steals for ESU (16-8, 14-5).

Ethan Ridgway, the PSAC's assist leader (8.6 apg), had 24 points and eight assists, Anthony Lee added 20 points and 10 rebounds, Josh Johnson, the reigning PSAC East Athlete of the Year, had 15 points and 12 rebounds and Ryan Connolly notched 11 points and nine boards for Kutztown.

ESU closed a seven-point margin to 94-92 on a putback by Krawczeniuk with 23.9 seconds left, but after a frantic stretch in which both teams turned it over in a 12-second span, Johnson was 2-for-2 at the foul line with 10 seconds left to seal the win for Kutztown.

ESU trailed by as many as 11 points (46-35) in the first half but closed strong, finishing with a jumper at the buzzer by Moore to get within 52-48 at intermission.

The Warriors led just once, 58-57, after a bucket by Moore with 17 minutes left, but answered every Kutztown run over the rest of the half.

KU scored seven straight for a 68-60 lead at the 12-minute mark, then Bing scored seven straight for ESU to get back to 68-67 just 90 seconds later.

Following a 6-0 Kutztown run, Krawczeniuk hit a three with 9:20 remaining to get within four (74-70), and sophomore guard Nick Giordano (seven points) hit another three to make it 81-77 with 5:30 remaining.

Kutztown led 86-79 with four minutes left after a three by Lee and bucket by Johnson bookended a layup by Bing.

Krawczeniuk scored and Moore converted a three-point play for a 5-0 run to make it 86-84 with 3:30 remaining.

Ridgeway scored nine of his 24 in the final 10 minutes, including layup and then two free throws that put Kutztown in front 94-88 with 1:23 left after Brice had scored for the Warriors.

Ridgeway missed a pair of free throws and Moore made two at the other end for a 94-90 score with 54.2 seconds showing. After ESU forced a Kutztown turnover, Moore missed a jumper and Krawczeniuk finished after the offensive rebound to get within two, before the hectic final seconds.

ESU, which trailed by 25 in the second half before closing within one in a 92-87 loss vs. then-No. 14 Kutztown on January 11, falls to 0-4 vs. nationally-ranked opponents this season.

The Warriors have led or been within one possession in the final minute of six of their eight losses this season, including Wednesday night. They have a margin of victory of 24.6 points in their 16 wins.

Kutztown won its third straight in the series after ESU had won the previous nine.

ESU shot 48.6 percent (36-for-74) from the field, 8-for-21 from the three-point line and 12-for-18 at the foul line.

Kutztown posted a 50.7 percent mark (34-for-67), was 7-for-18 from long distance and 21-for-26 at the foul line. Both teams committed 18 turnovers after ESU fell behind 6-0 in the turnover battle early in the contest.

Moore moved past Earle Greer (1980-84), who scored 1,556 career points, for fourth on the Warriors' scoring list. He ranks fifth in career rebounds (729), with Greer next up at 752.

Moore had his eighth 20-point game of the season and the 16th of his career for the Warriors.

ESU, which is locked into the No. 3 seed in the PSAC Tournament, has three regular season games remaining - Saturday vs. Bloomsburg, next Wednesday vs. Shippensburg and next Saturday (Feb. 25) at Mansfield.


NCAA DII Atlantic Region rankings (Feb. 15, 2017)
1. Fairmont State (23-1 DII, 23-1 in-region)
2. Shippensburg (19-2, 19-2)
3. IUP (23-2, 23-2)
4. West Liberty (22-2, 20-2)
5. Kutztown (19-2, 19-2)
6. Wheeling Jesuit (18-5, 18-5)
7. Virginia Union (21-4, 19-4)
8. Virginia State (18-4, 18-3)
9. Shepherd (15-9, 15-9)
10. ESU (15-7, 15-7)