EAST STROUDSBURG – East Stroudsburg University tied a season-high with 16 three-pointers in an 83-64 victory over Mercyhurst on Saturday night in PSAC men's basketball action at Koehler Fieldhouse.
The Warriors caught fire from long range in the contest, draining 16-of-25 for a season-best 64-percent mark from deep. ESU made 10-of-12 from long range in the second half for an 83.3-percent rate. The 16 made threes by the Warriors are tied for the second-most in a game since 2002-03. They also made 16 long balls against Cheyney earlier this season.
Senior Montrel Morgan led ESU's three-point barrage, as he hit 5-of-6 beyond the arc and tied his career-best with 17 points. Carlos Pepin matched Morgan with 17 points, which marked a new career-high for the redshirt sophomore. Pepin, who made 2-of-3 from deep, also pulled down four boards and added three assists in the contest.
Kitt Najee Walls went a perfect 4-of-4 from long range and made 6-of-10 overall from the floor, as he finished with 16 points and four assists. Marc Rodriguez was the final Warrior in double-figures, registering 13 points, three boards and three assists while making 3-of-5 from three-point territory. Michal Weiss, who was coming off his first double-double last time out, recorded eight points and a game-high nine rebounds.
With the victory, the Warriors pushed their win streak to four straight, as they will head into 2020 with a 7-3 overall mark and a 3-2 record in PSAC play.
In the early going of the contest, the Warriors used their patented high-pressure, trapping defense to jump out to a quick lead. ESU forced four turnovers by Mercyhurst in the first five minutes of play, opening a 14-6 advantage in the process.
The Warriors continued to shut down the Lakers, holding them to just eight points in the beginning 10:34 of the game. ESU stretched its lead to double-digits at the 8:00 mark of the first half following consecutive three-pointers from Walls and Morgan, followed by a bucket in the paint from Pepin.
Heading under the six-minute mark of the half, ESU began a stretch of nine straight points which concluded with 1:06 remaining and pushed the team's lead to 34-18. Mercyhurst tallied the final score of the half on a three from Trystan Pratapas to cut the ESU advantage to 34-21 heading into the break.
The Warriors didn't waste time showing off the three-point ball in the second half, as Pepin and Morgan knocked down three-pointers on two of the team's opening three possessions.
Mercyhurst was able to whittle the deficit back to single-digits following a string of seven straight points, but ESU answered with a 10-2 run that was capped by back-to-back threes from Troy Jones and Walls. The rally put the Warriors up 52-35, which marked the team's largest lead to that point in the contest.
The Lakers got back within 11 points at the midway mark of the half, but the three-point ball continued to be a momentum swinger for the Warriors, as they drained long balls on three straight possessions, including a pair from Rodriguez, to build their advantage back to 61-48 with 7:28 remaining.
The Warriors didn't let the lead slip back under 11 from that point on, and hit three more three-pointers the rest of the way to finish with 16 on the night and close out the 83-64 victory.
The Warriors are off from competition until January 3, 2020, when they head to Kutztown for their first PSAC East matchup at 7:30 p.m.
