EAST STROUDSBURG – Freshman Justin Paz dropped a career-high 23 points to help power East Stroudsburg University to a 74-66 victory over visiting Millersville on Saturday in PSAC men's basketball action at Koehler Fieldhouse.

Paz had the best shooting night of his young career, going 8-of-10 overall from the field while hitting a career-high five three-pointers on seven attempts. The performance marked the second 20-plus point effort for Paz this season, joining his 21-point game against Cheyney back in November.

Michal Weiss chipped in with 10 points and nine rebounds, as he recorded his fourth straight game with double-figure points. Mike Millsip was the other Warrior to finish in double-digits, posting 10 points to go along with four boards.

The victory was the fourth straight for the Warriors (14-8, 10-7 PSAC), as they now sit in sole possession of second place in the PSAC East, half a game ahead of West Chester and one game ahead of Millersville. The Marauders dropped to 12-11 overall and 9-8 in conference play following the loss.

ESU held MU to just one basket in the first five minutes of play, building a 9-2 advantage in the process. The Warriors continued to swarm the Marauders on the defensive end, and built their lead to double-digits at the 11:05 mark after Carlos Pepin hustled for the steal and passed one ahead to Paz who finished in the paint.

A three from Paz with 3:39 left in the half gave the Warriors their first 20-plus point lead of the tilt. Minutes later, Kitt Najee Walls converted a pair of free throws to give ESU its largest advantage of the game, 45-18, with 1:22 on the clock.

Millersville was able to get some momentum heading into the break, scoring the final seven points of the half to cut the deficit to 45-25.

The Warrior defense stifled Millersville in the opening half, limiting them to just 7-of-25 (.280) shooting. ESU was also efficient on the offensive end, making 17-of-30 (.567) from the floor and 5-of-10 (.500) from three-point territory.

The Marauders chipped away at the ESU lead throughout the early stages of the second half, and they pulled within 13 at the 12:53 mark after a three from James Sullivan followed by a layup from Mekhi Hendricks.

ESU's advantage dipped into single-digits with 6:20 remaining, but Paz was able to answer with four straight, including a nice floater in the lane, to make it a 68-56 game heading into the final five minutes of play.

The Marauders countered with a 10-3 run to whittle the ESU lead down to just five, 71-66, with 1:41 remaining in the tilt. It was the closest MU had been since the 14:13 mark of the first half.

Millersville had a chance to cut it to a one possession game heading under the one-minute mark, but Sullivan's three was off the iron as Weiss came down with the defensive board. Weiss dished off to Walls, who was fouled by MU. Walls hit 1-of-2 at the charity stripe to push the lead to 72-66 with 41 ticks remaining.

The Warriors forced another missed three-pointer on MU's next possession, and Walls pulled down a big rebound for ESU. He was fouled again and made both foul shots this time to secure the 74-66 win for the Warriors.

The Warriors shot 46.3-percent overall in the victory and went 9-of-23 (.391) from downtown. They held Millersville to a 39.3-percent shooting night and limited the Marauders to a 5-of-22 (.227) mark from deep.

ESU hosts Kutztown this coming Wednesday, February 12 at 8 p.m. from Koehler Fieldhouse.