WEST CHESTER, Pa. – Marc Rodriguez hit a pair of clutch three-pointers in the final 1:06 of action, and Kitt Najee Walls notched a team-high 17 points and seven assists, as the duo helped power East Stroudsburg University to a 91-85 victory over West Chester on Wednesday night in PSAC men's basketball action.
With the game tied at 79-79 nearing the final minute of play, Rodriguez received a pass from Walls and used his quick release to drain a three from the wing and put the Warriors on top by three.
Malik Jackson got to the line on the other end for West Chester and converted both free throws to make it a one-point game, but Rodriguez responded with another huge three-pointer, this time from the corner, to push the ESU lead to 85-81 with 30 seconds remaining.
Troy Jones got a steal off the ensuing in-bounds pass and was fouled by Matt Dade. Jones calmly sank both foul shots to increase the lead to 87-81 with 24 seconds showing on the clock.
Jackson countered with a quick jumper in the lane for the Golden Rams to cut it back to a four-point game, but Walls was able to convert all four of his free throws down the stretch to help close out the 91-85 victory for ESU.
Walls finished with a team-high 17 points and seven assists, as he went 5-of-9 from the field and 2-of-4 from deep. Mike Millsip and Justin Paz each chipped in 12 points, with Millsip also contributing a team-best six rebounds. Jones rounded out the team's double-digit scorers, finishing with 10 points to go along with four rebounds and four steals.
Rodriguez, Montrel Morgan and Michal Weiss posted nine points apiece, as the Warriors had seven players record nine or more in the win. Rodriguez also added five assists and five rebounds.
ESU shot 46.3-percent overall from the field while knocking down 10-of-26 (.385) from long range and 19-of-24 (.792) from the line.
With the victory, ESU improved to 10-7 overall and evened its conference record to 6-6, while West Chester fell to 14-4 on the year and 8-4 in PSAC action. The Warriors have now won four of the last five meetings against the Golden Rams.
The Warriors trailed by a 38-29 margin with 2:32 remaining in the first half before beginning a big rally that would shift momentum in the contest.
ESU closed the half with 10 of the final 11 points as five different Warriors got in on the scoring action during the stretch. Weiss' bucket off a feed from Walls with four ticks remaining tied the contest at 39-39.
The Warriors picked up right where they left off to begin the second half, going on a 10-2 run to open the frame, which was fueled by four points apiece from Walls and Morgan. The spurt capped off a huge 20-3 run for ESU which spanned the final 2:10 of the first half and the opening 2:31 of the second.
ESU grabbed its largest lead of the game, 56-46, at the 15:15 mark as Morgan found Millsip in the paint for a dunk. The Golden Rams countered with six straight to make it a four-point game, but ESU was able to build the advantage back to 63-54 over the ensuing three minutes of play.
As the game dipped under the 10-minute mark, West Chester fought back and cut the deficit back to four following a three-point play by Dade. The Golden Rams made it a one-possession game with 7:02 on the clock, and eventually tied the game at 77-all with 2:41 left in the tilt.
After the teams traded buckets on the next pair of possessions, Rodriguez hit his first of two big three-pointers for the Warriors that would prove to be the difference. Walls helped ice the victory by hitting 4-of-4 at the line in the final 13 seconds of action, as the Warriors closed out the six-point victory.
ESU heads to Gannon for a matchup this Saturday, January 25 at 3 p.m.
