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BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – Senior
Nick Giordano scored 22 points, including 17 in the first half, helping East Stroudsburg University set a new season-high for points during a 111-82 rout at Bloomsburg on Monday afternoon.
The Warriors (11-5, 8-2 PSAC) scored 101 of their points in the final 30 minutes, including 62 in the second half alone. They have won five games in a row against the Huskies (5-10, 2-8 PSAC), scoring 90+ points in each of those victories.
Giordano was one of five players with 10+ points, and 13 different Warriors scored in the win overall. ESU snaps a brief two-game road losing streak and moves back into a tie with Shippensburg and West Chester for first place in the PSAC East standings.
Redshirt senior
Josh Williams totaled 15 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while freshman
Ryan Smith (14 points, 7-10 FG), junior
Michal Weiss (12 points) and freshman
Jacob Godfrey (10 points) also reached double figures. All of Godfrey's scoring came in the final six minutes, as he netted the first points of his collegiate career.
ESU set season-highs in field goal percentage (57.0, 45-79) and assists (30). Freshman
Shamir Johnson dished out a season-high seven assists, redshirt senior
Jakwan Jones had five, and Giordano and freshman
Ish Horn each had four.
Bloomsburg led by as many as seven points three times in the early stages of the opening half, last holding a 19-12 advantage with 9:42 remaining before the intermission.
A Smith layup began a 17-2 run for the visitors which put them ahead for good. ESU upped the margin to 49-38 by halftime, and used a 14-2 stretch to put the game further out of reach to begin the second half.
Giordano scored 20+ points for the second time this season and the fourth time overall in his Warrior career. He hit 8 of 13 shots from the field and 4 of 8 attempts from 3-point range.
Jones added four steals to go along with his five assists, as he continues to lead the PSAC in both steals (3.3) and assists (6.1) per game. With his effort today, Jones becomes the fifth player in program history to reach 400 career assists.
The Warriors' previous scoring high this season was a 109-point effort at Felician on Nov. 20. They had convincing advantages in turnovers (24-12), points off turnovers (40-15), steals (15-5) and points in the paint (67-38).
ESU is back at Koehler Fieldhouse for a big PSAC East matchup against West Chester (13-5, 8-2) at 8 p.m. on Wednesday. The Warriors have won two-straight vs. the Golden Rams, including 90-76 victory in the second round of last year's Division II tournament.
Note:
Updated D2SIDA Atlantic Region rankings were released on Monday morning, with ESU dropping two spots to No. 8 after a 98-97 loss in overtime to top-ranked IUP last Wednesday. The full top 10 is available below:
D2SIDA Men's Basketball Atlantic Region Poll – Jan. 21, 2019
| Rank |
School (Record) |
Points |
Previous Ranking |
| 1 |
IUP (15-1) |
59 (5) |
1 |
| 2 |
West Liberty (13-2) |
55 (1) |
2 |
| 3 |
Virginia State (15-3) |
46 |
5 |
| 4 |
Fairmont State (12-4) |
41 |
3 |
| 5 |
Shippensburg (14-4) |
33 |
4 |
| 6 |
Slippery Rock (12-5) |
31 |
7 |
| 7 |
West Chester (13-5) |
21 |
9 |
| 8 |
ESU (10-5) |
16 |
6 |
| 9 |
Notre Dame (OH) (11-5) |
13 |
8 |
| 10 |
Concord (10-5) |
10 |
10 |
