KUTZTOWN, Pa. – For the third consecutive contest, the No. 14/20 East Stroudsburg University men's basketball team got off to a slow start offensively, but this time, the Warriors recovered and matched its largest comeback victory since 2005 in an 82-78 thriller over Kutztown at Keystone Arena on Monday night.
The Warriors (15-3, 9-3 PSAC) snap an uncharacteristic two-game losing skid, while the Golden Bears (5-12, 5-7 PSAC) fall for the fourth consecutive contest.
ESU trailed 43-23 with 3:48 remaining in the first half, as the relentless Warriors never gave up, closing the final 13 minutes with a 35-16 scoring run, featuring 12 points from reigning PSAC East Athlete of the Year
Carlos Pepin. ESU took its first lead at 73-72 with 4:26 left following a
Davon Lee jumper.
Jaelen McGlone extended the lead with a pair of free throws, before a Kutztown 3-pointer knotted the score at 75.
After a pair of Kutztown free throws,
Justin Paz sunk ESU's lone second-half 3-pointer to lift ESU back into the driver's seat with an 78-77 advantage. A
Lakeem McAliley layup and block would seal the win, as
Davon Lee sunk a pair of free throws with a second remaining for the final score of 82-78.
Notables
- McAliley led the Warriors with 17 points, shooting 5-of-12 from the floor and made 7-of-8 from the line. He added six rebounds and the important block to help seal the win.
- Mike Millsip stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block.
- Pepin recorded his 10th double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds. All 12 of his points came in the final 13 minutes of the contest, as he has now reached double-digits in all 18 games this season and 21 consecutive dating back to last season. He led ESU with six assists and added two steals and a block in 21 minutes of action.
- McGlone also reached double-figures with 12 points, while adding three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Justin Paz distributed four assists while posting five points and four rebounds.
- The Warriors needed nearly all 46 of its points in the paint, with ESU shooting a season-worst 4-of-23 (17.4%) from 3-point land.
- The Warriors led 42-37 in rebounds, 19-13 in assists, 11-6 in steals, had just 11 turnovers to Kutztown's 20, 29-11 in bench points and 46-30 in points in the paint.
- Kutztown was led in scoring by Jalen Bryant, who recorded 21 points. Kyree Generett (15 pts.), Kyle Whippen (13 pts.), and Josh Samec (11 pts.) also reached double-figures for KU.
- The win matched the largest deficit overcome in the Jeff Wilson era since 2002-03, when the Warriors took down Slippery Rock in 2005 when trailing by 19 points in the first half. In the second half, ESU held a deficit as high as 15 points, which marks the second-highest second half deficit overcome, last done in 2010 at Bloomsburg.
- With the win, ESU moves back into a tie for first-place in the PSAC East with Shippensburg (9-3 PSAC), who fell to Millersville, 56-55, on Monday night at Pucillo Gymnasium.
- The ESU win was the 11th consecutive over Kutztown in the series. The Warriors now lead the Golden Bears by a 96-77 mark since 1927.
How It Happened
- The Golden Bears scored the games' first nine points, before ESU answered with a field goal, building an early 14-2 advantage at the first media timeout of the contest. The Golden Bears maintained a double-digit lead until the Warriors sliced the deficit to 28-19.
- Kutztown extended its lead to 15 points at 38-23 following a 14-4 KU scoring run. David Duda Jr. ended the run with a triple, as Mike Ramos added a layup to make it a 42-28 contest. The Warriors entered the locker room at halftime trailing 51-39.
- ESU whittled the lead down to single digits at 62-53, as Pepin picked up his sixth point. The Warriors kept momentum, using an 18-8 scoring spree to slice the KU lead to just five points at 70-65.
- The Warriors kept momentum, as McAliley sunk a layup to bring it to a single possession, but Bryant answered for KU with a layup of its own to lengthen the lead back to five points at 72-67.
- A pair of McAliley free throws, a McGlone alley-oop and a Lee floater lifted ESU to its first lead of the contest at 73-72 with just 4:26 to go. McGlone added two free throws to make it a 3-point game, but Josh Samec answered for the Golden Bears with a game-tying triple to knot the score at 75-75 with 2:22 left.
- Two KU free throws with 1:55 left gave the Bears back the lead, but Paz sunk a clutch 3-pointer - the lone Warrior triple in the final 20 minutes – which ultimately gave ESU its lead back for good.
- McAliley used a layup and block to keep the advantage in favor of the Warriors, as Lee sunk a pair of free throws to seal the win. ESU escaped Keystone Arena with the 19-point comeback for the final score of 82-78.
Up Next
- The Warriors return home on Wednesday, when ESU battles Lock Haven at 7:30 p.m. inside Koehler Fieldhouse.
- The contest will be broadcasted regionally on Blue Ridge TV 13, nationally simulcasted on the PSAC Sports Digital Network and available on the radio dials on 103.1 FM/840 AM and on Bigfootpoconos.com.
