EAST STROUDSBURG – Marc Rodriguez and Justin Paz scored 21 points apiece, and the East Stroudsburg defense forced 34 turnovers and tallied 26 steals, as the Warriors cruised to a 110-51 victory against Cheyney on Saturday night in ESU's home opener at Koehler Fieldhouse.
Rodriguez and Paz did much of their damage from beyond the arc, as the duo combined for 10 three-pointers in the win. Rodriguez went 6-of-8 from long range en route to his 21-point performance, while also tallying four steals. Paz drained 4-of-8 from three-point territory and finished with 21 points, six rebounds and three steals.
Carlos Pepin posted a 6-of-8 shooting night from the field, recording 15 points to go along with seven boards and a team-high five steals. Montrel Morgan was the other Warrior to post a double-digit scoring night, finishing with 10 points and four assists. Zach Sabol finished just shy of a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds.
The 26 steals by the Warriors were the second-most for them in a game since 2002-03, and their 34 turnovers forced were the third-most since 2002-03. The Warriors registered 52 of their 110 points off of turnovers.
ESU (2-1) shot 44.8-percent from the floor on the night and made 16-of-43 (.372) from deep. Cheyney shot 44.4-percent overall, but made just 2-of-13 (.154) from distance and fell victim to ESU's high-pressure defense all night.
ESU jumped out to a big 17-2 advantage in the opening five minutes of the contest as the Warriors forced five turnovers during the early stretch. Rodriguez scored the first eight points of the game on a pair of threes and a layup, and Sabol capped off the run with the final four points for ESU.
The Warriors quickly built their advantage to 20 points at the 12:30 mark of the first half following five straight points by Pepin. After a long ball from Cheyney's Jalen Branch brought the deficit back under 20, Rodriguez responded with his third three-pointer of the game with 9:03 remaining in the half to make it a 32-11 game.
ESU grabbed its largest lead of the half, 47-18, in the final minute of the frame after another three from Rodriguez. Aaron Seward countered with a tip-in on the other end for Cheyney, but ESU got the final points of the half on a pair of free throws by Morgan, as the Warriors went into the locker room with a 49-20 advantage.
A 17-6 spurt from East Stroudsburg in the opening four minutes of the second half put the Warriors up by 40 points, 66-26, and essentially put the game away in the early stages of the frame. Rodriguez hit his final two long balls during the run, and Pepin added fuel to the rally with a pair of buckets during the stretch. The Warriors forced five more turnovers by Cheyney during the run.
The ESU defense continued to swarm Cheyney, and turned its high-pressure defense into offense throughout the night. The Warriors grabbed their largest lead of the night, 103-42, in the final minutes of the contest, and eventually closed out the 110-51 victory.
The Warriors are back in action for their second home game of the season this coming Monday (Nov. 18), as they welcome in Felician for a 7 p.m. game at Koehler Fieldhouse.
