MANSFIELD, Pa. -- Holding an eight-point lead at halftime, the East Stroudsburg University men's basketball team took full control early on in the second half with a massive 35-15 scoring run to down Mansfield, 113-90, in the program's first contest of 2022 at Marion Decker Gymnasium on Wednesday evening.

ESU improves to 6-4, 4-2 in the PSAC, while the Mountaineers drop to 1-10, 0-5 in conference after the first PSAC East matchup of the season for both schools.   

The Warriors scored the first nine points in the second half and built a 20-point advantage just over four minutes into the period. After extending the lead to 28 points after a David Duda Jr. 3-pointer at 84-56 with 12:54 remaining, ESU was able to hold a lead of at least 23 points the rest of the way to earn its third win in PSAC action.

Notables

• Carlos Pepin led ESU in points and off the glass, specifically shining in the second half. The redshirt junior posted a career and game-high 25 points, shooting an efficient 11-of-15 from the field and was 3-3 from beyond the arc. He grabbed nine rebounds and tallied three assists and two steals before fouling out. In his 24 minutes on the court, the Warriors outscored the Mounties by 27 points.
• David Duda Jr. put together his best game of career to date, scoring a career-high 19 points. He swished four triples on just nine attempts and added three assists.
• Lakeem McAliley registered 11 points, five steals and three rebounds in just 12 minutes of playing time in the first half. He finished the contest with 15 points on an efficient 7-of-9 from the field with six rebounds in 17 minutes of action. He has reached double figures in scoring in nine consecutive contests.
• Justin Paz posted 12 points and five assists, while Troy Jones rounds out the double-figure scorers with 10 points and stuffed the stat sheet with four rebounds, seven assists and a block.
• The stifiling ESU full-court press forced 17 turnovers with eight steals. The 17 Mountie turnovers generated in 26 points off turnovers for the Warriors. The strong defensive presence also shutdown Mansfield from long range, as MU could only convert three of 18 attempts from beyond the arc.
• It was the opposite for the Warriors, who built its lead after finding its stroke from behind the 3-point land. Specifically in the second half, ESU nearly made half of its attempts by shooting 9-of-18 on triples for an overall mark of 14-of-34 from beyond the arc.
• The 14 treys is a new season high for the Warriors, as seven different players recorded at least one made 3-pointer.

• ESU built an early 8-2 lead, before the Mounties sliced the deficit to just two points at 10-8.
• The two squads traded points, before the Warriors strung together nine consecutive points, ESU grabbed a 33-21 lead with 6:48 left in the first half. After extending its lead to as high as 14 points in the first half at 46-32, the Mounties would close the final two minutes of the half on a 9-3 sprint to cut the gap to just eight points at 49-41 after 20 minutes of action.
• After the intermission, the Warriors reeled off an impressive 22-10 sprint before the first media timeout. In just 4:07 of clock, ESU shot 9-of-13 in that stretch from the field and 4-of-7 from 3-point land to lift its lead to 20-point lead at 71-51. Pepin registered eight points in the early second half run.
• Pepin continued his impressive play, totaling 19 points in the second half. Overall, he scored 15 of ESU's 35 points in the critical 35-15 scoring run during the first 7:06 of the first half. The Warriors held a lead of 23-plus points the rest of the way.
• The Warriors reached the century mark for the first time this season with over six minutes left on the clock with the game in hand and cruised to its sixth victory over its last seven contests.   

Notes

• ESU's 113 points are the most by ESU this season and the most points since Feb., 8, 2018 when ESU scored 118 points in an 118-102 victory at Koehler Fieldhouse. It's the most points in a road game for the Warriors since matching the 113 point total against Clarion in the 2017-18 season opener. The last time the Warriors scored more than 113 points on the road was Jan. 6, 2017 when ESU downed Millersville, 119-87.
• The Warriors made 47 field goals, which is tied for the third most in a single game and the most against a PSAC team in the Jeff Wilson era (since 2002-03). ESU matched the 47 field goals against Lock Haven during the 2017 season.
• The Warriors' 27 assists are the most by an ESU team since distributing 29 helpers against Bloomsburg during the 2018-19 campaign. The 27 assists are tied for the seventh most assists by the Warriors in the Jeff Wilson era.

Up Next

• The Warriors return to Koehler Fieldhouse on Saturday against PSAC East foe Kutztown. Tipoff is slated for 3:00 p.m. against the Golden Bears.
• The contest will be broadcasted regionally on Blue Ridge-TV 13, the PSAC Sports Digital Network and on Bigfoot County 103.1 FM/840 AM.