WEST LIBERTY, W. VA. -- Trailing by as many as 11 points in the second half, the East Stroudsburg University men's basketball team fought back to take a late lead, but a jumper with six seconds left proved to be the game-winner, as Wheeling defeated the Warriors by a score of 72-70 on Friday night at the Academic Sports and Recreation Complex on campus of West Liberty University.
ESU falls to 0-1, while Wheeling is now 1-0 after its season-opening game at the Atlantic Region Crossover.
With Wheeling leading 51-40 with 14:54 left in the second half, ESU embarked on a 24-14 run to take its first since 7:51 in the first half (20-19) at 64-63 with just 3:13 remaining. The teams would trade leads, as Carlos Pepin would drain a jumper with 1:36 remaining to take a 70-67 advantage. The Warriors would be held off the scoreboard the rest of the way, as the Cardinals would score two free throws along with the go-ahead hoop and harm with six seconds left to take the victory.
Four Warriors reached double figures, led by Carlos Pepin with 18 points, converting 8 of his 16 field goal attempts. He also brought down six rebounds. The Lodi, N.J. also caused havoc defensively, with six steals in 28 minutes.
Troy Jones registered 12 points, while Mike Millsip tallied a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Marc Rodriguez recorded 10 points, converting 7-of-9 attempts from the free throw line.
The Warriors struggled from long range, making 1-of-22 attempts from 3-point land. After making 71.4 percent of its free throws in the first half (10-14), ESU was held to 13-of-23 from the charity stripe in the second half. The trademark ESU defense forced 21 turnovers, earning 15 steals that resulted in 30 points.
Jordan Reid led the Cardinals with 20 points, while Jay Gentry (19 pts.) and Jarrett Haines (14 pts.) also tallied 10-plus points for Wheeling.
Both teams could not gain a significant advantage on the scoreboard in the first half, until Wheeling put together an 8-0 run with ESU leading 20-19 to retake a 27-22 advantage. The Warriors would cut the deficit to as low as one point at 32-31, but the Cardinals would refuse to relinquish the lead. WU would hold a 37-34 lead at halftime.
ESU looked to take a lead early on in the second half, as Rodriguez drained the lone 3-pointer for ESU to open the scoring in the second half, tying the contest at 37-37. Wheeling would build the aforementioned 11-point lead at 51-40, before the Warriors settled down. Pepin registered six points in the scoring run for ESU to get back into the contest.
Jones knocked down a jumper to give ESU back the lead with 3:13 left at 64-63. The teams would trade buckets, as the Cardinals would close the game on a 5-0 run in the final 27 seconds to escape the Academic Sports and Recreation Complex with a win.
ESU has a quick turnaround, battling Atlantic Region Crossover host No. 14 West Liberty on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. The Hilltoppers opened their season with a 104-82 victory over Winston Salem State earlier on Friday.
