EAST STROUDSBURG – Despite shooting a season-best 54.1 percent and recording a season-high 96 points, the East Stroudsburg University men's basketball team suffered its first loss of the season in a 110-96 decision to Gannon on Saturday afternoon at Koehler Fieldhouse.
The Warriors (5-1, 1-1 PSAC) see its five-game winning streak to start the season come to an end. The Golden Knights (7-0, 2-0 PSAC) remain undefeated under new head coach Jordan Fee.
Notables
- Nasir Griffin recorded a career and game-high 21 points to lead ESU, making 6-of-8 from the field and knocked down all eight of his free throw attempts. He stuffed the stat sheet with five rebounds, two assists, a steal and two blocks in 29 minutes.
- Jaelen McGlone reached double-figures for the third consecutive contest, pouring in 16 points on 6-10 shooting from the field, adding four rebounds and a steal, leading ESU with four assists.
- Justin Paz totaled 14 points, two rebounds and an assist, while Jaheim Bethea also reached double-figures with 11 points in 11 minutes on the court, adding a pair of steals.
- Lakeem McAliley struggled with foul trouble early, finishing with six points four rebounds in eight minutes before fouling out. He is now 19 points away from becoming the 34th member of the ESU 1,000-point club and just the fifth to reach the mark during his junior season.
- Gannon was led by double-figure scorers Mike Montano (20 pts), Derrick Andersen (19 pts), Zach Hobbs (19 pts), Josh Omojafo (19 pts), Lyle Tipton (14 pts)
- ESU led 33-32 on rebounds and in blocks (4-3).
- The ESU Athletic Department honored the 2023 Atlantic Region Champion Warrior Softball Team at halftime with its ring ceremony.
How It Happened
- The Golden Knights began the contest with a pair of 3-pointers before Griffin opened the scoring for ESU to cut the deficit to four. ESU got within two points of Gannon at 8-6 following four points from McGlone and tied the matchup at 8-8 after a McAliley layup.
- After trading points, Gannon went on a 10-0 scoring run to take a 21-10 edge over ESU with 12:14 left in the first half. After the Warriors cut the deficit to six, the Golden Knights extended the lead back to double digits with a layup and free throw.
- With the first half winding down, GU closed the first half with a 14-3 run, taking a 57-38 edge into the locker room after 20 minutes of action. GU shot 64.5 percent (20-31 FG, 4-10 3PT) from the floor in the first half, with the Warriors countering with 50 percent (14-28 FG).
- Gannon extended its lead in the second half to as high as 26 points ay 96-70.
- With the game in-hand, the Warriors never gave up, closing the contest on a 15-4 run over the final five-plus minutes. Gannon remained undefeated in the battle of unbeatens with the final score of 110-96.
Up Next
- ESU jumps out of PSAC crossover play in its next contest on Sun., Dec. 10 against Holy Family. The matchup is set for 3:00 p.m. against HFU.
