EAST STROUDSBURG – With 0.9 seconds remaining and the East Stroudsburg University men's basketball team trailing by a single point, sophomore forward
Nasir Griffin knocked down both his free throw attempts to lift the Warriors over Mercyhurst, 65-64, in the PSAC and home opener at Koehler Fieldhouse on Friday night.
The Warriors (5-0, 1-0 PSAC) remain undefeated and get revenge over the Lakers (3-5, 0-1 PSAC), who ended ESU's 2022-23 season in the NCAA Tournament First Round.
ESU held a 50-43 with 6:19 remaining, but Mercyhurst buried back-to-back 3-pointers to make it a one-point game. The two squads traded points and led the rest of the way, with the Warriors coming from behind deficits at 59-56, 61-58, 63-61, and 64-63 to earn the 65-64 victory.
Notables
- Jaelen McGlone led ESU with 18 points and seven rebounds, distributing three assists and registering three steals.
- With his game-winning free throws, Nasir Griffin totaled 11 points (7-10 FT) and grabbed seven rebounds.
- Lakeem McAliley also reached double figures, with 10 points, and grabbed five boards and a block. Tyshawn Trail neared double digits with nine points. Justin Paz led the squad with four assists.
- Jeff Planutis led Mercyhurst with 19 points, while Sean Fullerton (15 points) also reached double figures. Aidan Reich led 'Hurst with six rebounds.
- ESU led in rebounds (34-30), steals (9-6), points off turnovers (27-16), second-chance points (14-12) and had six less turnovers (14-20).
- McAliley is now just 25 points away from becoming ESU's 34th member of the 1,000 point club. He looks to become the fourth Warrior to reach the mark in his junior season.
- Neither team held a double-digit lead, with the Warriors earning a game-best nine-point lead at 23-14 with 3:57 remaining in the first half.
- The Warriors improve to 11-5 all-time against the Lakers.
Gallery: (12-1-2023) ESU 65, Mercyhurst 64
How It Happened
- The defensive battle started immediately after the tip, with a McGlone layup opening the scoring 1:57 into the contest. Points were at a premium, with ESU building a 14-8 lead near the halfway point in the first half. McGlone supplied seven points early to pace ESU.
- After a quick 6-3 spurt by 'Hurst, the Warriors countered with a 6-0 burst to take the game-high nine-point lead at 23-14. With 3:11 left in the first half, the Lakers posted 10 consecutive points to take a 24-23 lead with 38 seconds left in the first half. Over the final 30 seconds, Carson Howard and Justin Paz knocked down four free throws, while Mercyhurst countered with a pair, as ESU took a 27-26 lead into the locker room.
- Neither team held a lead larger than seven over the final 20 minutes in a back-and-forth battle. The teams traded points over the first eight minutes of the second half, as the two teams were tied at 39-39 with 10:26 to go. After a 4-0 run by Mercyhurst, ESU took the second-half high of seven points after an 11-0 sprint. The Lakers countered with back-to-back triples to cut the deficit to just a single point at 50-49 with 5:23 remaining.
- The Warriors countered with a Griffin free throw and a McGlone layup to extend its lead to four at 53-49. The Lakers used a quick 4-0 spurt to take a 3-point lead, as Paz picked the pocket of the Mercyhurst point guard and led McGlone with a dunk to get the Warriors within a single point at 59-58.
- With less than 60 seconds remaining, a jumper from Fullerton lifted 'Hurst back to a 3-point lead at 61-57, but McGlone buried the game-tying 3-pointer to erupt Koehler Fieldhouse. The points continued to be traded, with Plantuis converting a layup with 31 seconds left, lifting Mercyhurst back to a two-point lead. McAliley drove and made a move for the layup to tie the contest back at 63-63. Christian Gamble made one-of-two free throws from the line with 12 seconds remaining to retake the lead at 64-63.
- With less than a second to go, Griffin earned two free throws and knocked down both to secure a 65-64 win. ESU was able to get a hand on the incoming Laker pass to run out the clock.
Up Next
- The Warriors (5-0) have a quick turnaround, facing fellow unbeaten Gannon (6-0, 1-0 PSAC) on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. inside Koehler Fieldhouse.
