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EAST STROUDSBURG – Redshirt senior Jakwan Jones scored 19 of his career-high 26 points in the second half, helping East Stroudsburg University secure a 92-79 victory over Kutztown in a PSAC quarterfinal at Koehler Fieldhouse on Wednesday.

The Warriors (21-6) win their 10th straight game and advance to this weekend's Final Four, which will be hosted by West division No. 1 seed IUP. ESU will face Mercyhurst in a 1 p.m. semifinal on Saturday after the third-seeded Lakers knocked off Slippery Rock 73-68 earlier this evening.

Freshman Ryan Smith totaled 16 points (12-14 FT), while freshman Shamir Johnson and redshirt sophomore Troy Jones added 12 and 11 points, respectively, off the bench for the Warriors. ESU used a decisive 10-0 run midway through the second half to break open what had been a 63-63 tie.

"I thought Kutztown did a really good job early in the game," head coach Jeff Wilson said. "They threw some different looks at us and made a lot of shots. Fortunately for us, Jakwan Jones was really good in the second half. He settled us down and helped us get back into our usual style of play."

The Golden Bears (16-14) shot 68 percent in the first half, hitting 17 of 25 field goal attempts and 5 of 8 shots from 3-point range. They held a 46-39 advantage with just over a minute remaining before a 3-pointer by Johnson and two Smith free throws reduced the margin back down to two heading into the intermission.

There were 12 lead changes in the game, and a layup by Kutztown's Da'Quan Granberry created the last of seven ties with 11:38 left in regulation.

A Smith free throw and a Jakwan Jones 3-pointer began ESU's key 10-0 spurt over the next four minutes of game action. After Kutztown got back within 74-67 with 6:41 on the clock, Smith and Jakwan Jones combined for a 7-0 run consisting entirely of free throws which put the game out of reach.

The Warriors got to the line 37 times overall on the evening, and they hit 17 of 23 shots from the charity stripe in the second half. Eight of those makes came from Smith; his 13 made free throws were the most by a Warrior player this season.

Jakwan Jones added nine assists to go along with his career-high scoring output. He hit 9 of 12 field goal attempts and 4 of 7 shots from long distance while setting a new scoring mark for a second-straight game. Jones totaled 25 points at Millersville in the final game of the regular season on Saturday.

Redshirt senior Josh Williams chipped in nine points, 11 rebounds and four blocks in the victory. ESU limited Kutztown to 41.4 percent shooting in the second half, and finished the contest with a 20-9 advantage in turnovers.

Austin Laughlin totaled a team-high 24 points for the Golden Bears. Anthony Lee, who entered ranked fourth in Division II in scoring (27.6 ppg), had 21 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in the defeat.

IUP guaranteed the right to host this weekend's Final Four with a 76-68 win over Pitt-Johnstown on Wednesday. The Crimson Hawks will face West Chester in the second semifinal at 3:30 p.m. after the Golden Rams knocked off Shippensburg by an 89-72 final.

Sunday's championship game will be played at 3 p.m. The Warriors continue their quest for a second-straight PSAC title, and a fourth in the past eight seasons, with Saturday's matchup against Mercyhurst

"They've played very good basketball in the second half of the season," Wilson said. "At this time of the year, you're not going to face a bad team. We'll need to be consistent for 40 minutes and be willing to grind things out offensively when necessary."

ESU also moved up one spot to No. 5 this afternoon in the final Division II Atlantic Region rankings released prior to Selection Sunday. The full tournament field will be announced at 10:30 p.m. on Sunday evening.


NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Atlantic Region Rankings – March 6, 2019
 

Rank	School
1	IUP
2	West Liberty
3	Virginia State
4	Fairmont State
5	East Stroudsburg
6	Shippensburg
7	West Chester
8	Mercyhurst
9	Notre Dame (OH)
10	Slippery Rock