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WEST CHESTER, Pa. – In a battle of the top two teams in the PSAC East standings, East Stroudsburg University made an emphatic statement at West Chester in the final 20 minutes.

Leading by a 41-40 margin at the intermission, ESU started the second half on a 15-4 run and never looked back, securing a 94-77 victory to move within a half-game of first place in the division.

The Warriors (18-6, 15-3 PSAC) extend their winning streak to seven games, and they halt a 15-game winning run for the Golden Rams (21-6, 16-3 PSAC). ESU also handed West Chester its first home defeat of the season, as the Golden Rams had entered Saturday with a 12-0 record at Hollinger Fieldhouse.

Freshman Ryan Smith had another dominant performance for the Warriors, totaling 23 points and 12 rebounds to pick up his third-straight double-double. He hit all seven field goal attempts and made 7 of 9 free throws. Redshirt senior Josh Williams was right behind with 22 points (8-11 FG), nine rebounds and three blocks, as he just missed out on his own run of three double-doubles in a row.

Senior Nick Giordano and redshirt sophomore Troy Jones added 14 points apiece for ESU, with Jones establishing a new career scoring high in the process. He led a group of Warrior reserves which outscored their West Chester counterparts by a 41-19 margin.

The teams combined for six ties and four lead changes in the first half. Smith scored 16 of his 23 points in the opening 20 minutes to help the Warriors take a slim advantage into the intermission.

Five different ESU players scored during the 15-4 run to begin the second half, with a Troy Jones layup making it 56-44 with 16:27 left in regulation. The lead would grow to as large as 23 points when a Giordano 3-pointer put the Warriors ahead 85-62 with just over five minutes remaining.

ESU was relentless throughout the half, shooting 54.8% (17 for 31) from the field and limiting West Chester to a 32.4% (11 for 34) output.

The Warriors also had a 22-9 advantage in assists on the afternoon. Redshirt senior Jakwan Jones led the way with seven assists, and he also became the third Warrior in program history to reach 200 career steals after recording two thefts on Saturday. Jones leads the PSAC in both assists (6.5) and steals (3.0) per game.

ESU, which has won 11 of the last 15 meetings against West Chester, avenged an 88-87 defeat to the Golden Rams at Koehler Fieldhouse on Jan. 23. West Chester suffered its first loss since an 80-75 setback at IUP on Dec. 18.

The Warriors are down to their final two games of the regular season. Next up is an 8 p.m. home matchup against Kutztown on Wednesday night.

Jakwan Jones, Williams, Giordano and Steven Stoney will each be recognized prior to the final regular season home game of their collegiate careers. Giordano will have a chance to become the 32nd Warrior to reach 1,000 points for his career, as he enters his Senior Night with 985 points at ESU.