SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The East Stroudsburg University men's basketball team fell to Virginia State, 63-49, in the 2019-20 season opener on Friday as the teams took part in the PSAC vs. CIAA Conference Challenge hosted at Shippensburg.

The Warriors, who are coming off a PSAC East Regular Season Championship and NCAA DII Tournament appearance last season, played their usual tough defense with 21 forced turnovers in the contest, but struggled on the offensive end, going just 17-of-66 (.260) from the field and 7-of-32 (.220) from long range.

Redshirt sophomore Marc Rodriguez tallied a team-high 10 points to lead the Warriors, while Montrel Morgan added nine points, making 3-of-5 from three-point range. Carlos Pepin registered seven points and added team-highs in both rebounds (9) and steals (3), as he finished just one board shy of a double-double.

Virginia State went 25-of-53 (.470) from the floor and made 5-of-14 (.333) from deep in the victory while holding a 53-31 advantage on the boards. The Trojans were led by Lual Daniel Rahama, who posted a double-double with a game-high 15 points and 13 rebounds. Jarron Santos helped pace the offense with 12 points on 3-of-4 shooting from long range.

ESU struggled to find its stroke from the field in the first half of play, going 6-of-34 (.180) from the floor and 4-of-15 (.270) from three-point territory. The Warriors did force 12 turnovers by Virginia State in the opening half and scored eight points off turnovers to help keep them within striking distance.

Rodriguez netted nine of his 10 points in the opening half to lead all scorers at the break, while Pepin added five points and four boards in the stanza.

Virginia State shot 10-of-24 (.420) from the floor in the opening half and went 3-of-9 (.330) from deep. Halil Parks and Santos paced the team with seven points apiece, as the Trojans carried a 26-20 advantage into the halftime break.

VSU grabbed its first double-digit lead of the contest at 34-24 following the first media timeout of the second half. A three-point play from freshman Zach Sabol on ESU's next possession brought the Warriors back within seven, but VSU answered with six straight to extend its advantage to 40-27 with 13:44 on the clock.

East Stroudsburg cut the deficit back down to 10 points on a pair of occasions over the remainder of the contest, but that was as close as the Warriors would get, as Virginia State closed out the 63-49 victory to record its first win of the 2019-20 campaign.

ESU plays Virginia Union to close out the PSAC vs. CIAA Challenge tomorrow (Nov. 9) at 3 p.m.