GREENSBURG, Pa. – After a tremendous sequence that saw a Justin Paz steal and Lakeem McAliley dunk and free throw which gave the No. 25 East Stroudsburg University men's basketball a 76-74 with less than 20 seconds remaining, Seton Hill responded with a game-winning 3-pointer off the hands of Sean Dillon with just 1.2 seconds left to lift SHU past ESU, 77-76, on Sunday afternoon at the McKenna Center.

The Warriors (8-1, 2-1 PSAC) fall for the first time this season with the loss, while the Griffins (6-3, 1-2 PSAC) pick up their first conference win.

Reigning PSAC East Athlete of the Year Carlos Pepin and All-PSAC East Second Team selection Lakeem McAliley led the way with a combined 35 points and 22 rebounds.

Notables

• McAliley tallied a game-high 18 points, which included the 3-point play that put the Warriors up two late in the contest. Pepin registered 17 points and a season-high 18 rebounds, while also leading ESU with six assists.
• Jaelen McGlone (3-5 FG) and Nasir Griffin (4-6 FG) each tallied nine points, while David Duda Jr. (2-2 3PT) and Zach Sabol added six points a piece.
• Leading the Griffins was Jimmy Moon (20 pts.) Samuel Tabe (17 pts.) and Sean Dillon (10 pts.), who hit the clutch game-winning 3-pointer.
• The Warriors made just one of its five free throw attempts in the first half, before recovering to make 11-13 in the final 20 minutes.
• The Warriors trailed by a game-high 14 points in the first half before cutting the halftime deficit to six.
• ESU's offense was held to 76 points, its lowest output this season.
• SHU weathered the Warrior press, with ESU registering six steals (averaged 12.1 steals per game entering the day) and forced 14 turnovers (opponents averaged 20.6 turnovers entering the day). 

• SHU took charge from the beginning, draining 12 of its first 20 field goal attempts from the field (60.0%) to build a 32-21 advantage.
• ESU was able to score 11 consecutive points, cutting the Griffins advantage to three at 32-29 following a McAliley layup. ESU got within two points of SHU in the first half, but the Griffins took a 41-36 edge into the locker room.
• After the break, ESU took its first lead of the contest at 54-52, as the teams continued to trade points. ESU built a five-point advantage at 66-61 with 5:06 remaining, but SHU posted a quick 10-2 scoring run in just 1:44 of clock to take a four-point lead at 74-70.
• ESU scored the next six points of the game with 1:17 to go. Pepin made three-of-4 from the stripe, while Paz came up with the clutch steal as the Griffins looked to force a Warrior foul with time winding down. Paz sent a dime to McAliley, who finished strong with a dunk and was fouled. The sharpshooter from the stripe drained the attempt to put ESU up two points with 19 seconds remaining.
• After a Warrior timeout, Dillon took possession, and made a move to create space against McAliley, draining the eventual game-winner with 1.2 seconds remaining. ESU threw up a prayer with time expiring, as the shot clanked off the backboard.

• The Warriors look to get back to their winning ways against California, Pa. tomorrow in its final road contest of the 2022 calendar year.
• ESU and California (Pa.) square off at 3:00 p.m. on Monday afternoon.