EAST STROUDSBURG -- The East Stroudsburg University men's basketball team could not overcome a poor shooting performance from 3-point range, as the Warriors fell to first-place Millersville, 82-73 on Saturday afternoon at Pucillo Gymnasium.

The Warriors (13-7, 11-5 PSAC) see their six-game road winning streak come to a close, while the Marauders (19-4, 13-4) take a game and a half lead in the PSAC East with their 10th consecutive victory.

ESU had four players reach double figures, led by Carlos Pepin's 18 points. Pepin has now posted 10-plus points for the ninth time over his past 10 games. He also led the Warriors with eight rebounds.

After starting the season 1-3 on the road, the Warriors had won six consecutive road contests (Mercyhurst, Mansfield, Shippensburg, Shepherd, Bloomsburg and Kutztown), before falling to Millersville.

Notables

• Joining Pepin in double-figures was Justin Paz, who registered 16 points and three of ESU's triples. He added two steals. Marc Rodriguez and Troy Jones each posted 11 points. Jones tied for a game-high with four assists.
• Millersville was led by Khari Williams, who posted a game-high 20 points. Jaden Faulkner added 18 points, while Caden Najdawi (15 points) and Justin Nwosu (14 points) also contributed double figures.
• ESU was held in check from the perimeter, shooting 4-of-19 (21.1 percent) from 3-point land. 'Ville countered with an efficient mark of 8-for-13 (61.5 percent) from beyond the arc.
• The Warriors held advantages in turnovers (11-19), bench points (15-11), fast break points (8-5), steals (8-5), points off turnovers (21-12), points in the paint (40-34) and second-chance points (15-5).
• 'Ville was able to get the line 13 more times than the Warriors, making 22 of their 33 attempts, while ESU had a more efficient percentage of 15-of-20 on there free throw opportunities.
• The Warriors are now in third-place in the PSAC East, a half game behind Shippensburg (11-4), who did not play on Saturday due to COVID-19 precautions between the Raiders and Mansfield. 

How It Happened

• The Warriors scored the first five points before Millersville countered with six consecutive points. The two squads would trade points and leads back and forth. With the contest tied at 14-14, an 18-3 Marauder spurt over the course of three minutes of clock would lift Millersville to a 31-16 lead with 9:30 to play in the first half. Millersville used a balanced offense with six players scoring during the stretch, as the Marauders shot 5-of-8 and 3-of-4 from 3-point during the run, while the Warriors were held to just 1-of-7.
• Millersville extended its first-half lead to as high as 15 points, but ESU would close the first half strong, outscoring the Marauders 19-12 over the final eight-plus minutes to make it an eight-point game at 46-38 at halftime. The Warriors found their stroke, making 50 percent of their attempts from the field to cut the deficit.
• In the second half, ESU's deficit grew back to a game-high 18 at 75-57 with 4:50 to go. With clock being the enemy, the Warriors trimmed the deficit to just eight points at 77-69 with just over two minutes remaining. The 12-3 spurt gave ESU life, making 3-of-5 attempts from the floor and 5-of-6 from the free throw stripe during the nearly 3-minute stretch.
• ESU was forced to foul late in order to get possessions as time wound down. The Marauders made five of their final six free throws to put the game on ice to escape Pucillo Gymnasium with their 10th consecutive victory.

Up Next

• ESU turns its head to Kutztown for the second time in five days, as the Warriors welcome the Golden Bears to Koehler Fieldhouse on Monday evening.
• The opening tip is slated for 7:30 p.m. in the Poconos.