EAST STROUDSBURG – Senior Michal Weiss netted a career-high 20 points to lead East Stroudsburg University to a 70-59 victory over visiting Clarion on Saturday in PSAC men's basketball action at Koehler Fieldhouse.
Weiss went 7-of-9 from the field and 6-of-11 from the foul line en route to his 20-point performance. The senior also pulled down a team-high nine rebounds, as he finished just one board shy of a double-double for the second consecutive game.
The victory was the first conference win of the season for the Warriors, as they improved to 5-3 overall and 1-2 in PSAC play. Clarion dropped to 1-7 on the year and 0-3 in the PSAC following the loss.
ESU shot 46.4-percent from the floor as a team and made 4-of-15 (.267) from long range, while Clarion posted a 43.6-percent shooting night and hit 6-of-20 (.300) from deep. The Warriors forced 22 turnovers in the contest, and now have five games this season with 20 or more turnovers caused.
Carlos Pepin helped pace the Warrior offense, registering 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting while also grabbing seven rebounds. Montrel Morgan was the other ESU player to finish in double-figures, as he tallied 11 points to go along with four rebounds, three assists and three steals.
ESU started out slow on the offensive end, scoring just eight points through the opening eight-plus minutes of play as Clarion jumped out in front early, 15-8.
The Golden Eagles continued to lead by seven heading under the midway mark of the first half before four straight points from Pepin followed by a bucket in the paint from Weiss cut the ESU deficit to 19-18 with 6:21 left in the half.
Clarion built its lead back to six minutes later, but ESU closed out the half with 15 of the final 20 points to take a 34-30 advantage into the break. The rally was capped by back-to-back three-pointers from Kitt Najee Walls and Marc Rodriguez in the final minute of action, which gave the Warriors the lead for good.
The Warriors carried their momentum into the second half as they scored the opening nine points of the stanza to grab the first double-digit lead of the game at 43-30. Morgan scored five of the team's points during the stretch, and Weiss and Shamir Johnson each added a bucket apiece.
Clarion answered with a 14-5 run over the ensuing five minutes of play to get back within striking distance, 48-44, with 10:19 showing on the clock. A basket in the paint for Weiss helped cool the Clarion rally, and Troy Jones followed with a steal at midcourt before taking it to the basket and finishing while absorbing contact and getting the foul call. Jones converted the free throw to finish off the three-point play and extend the ESU lead to 53-49.
Weiss put the Warriors back up by double-digits on a layup off an assist from Morgan with 6:30 remaining, and the ESU lead never dipped below eight points the rest of the way, as the Warriors closed out the 70-59 victory to collect their first conference win of the season.
ESU returns to action on December 20 for a home game against Edinboro at 7:30 p.m.
