EAST STROUDSBURG – In a tale of two halves, the East Stroudsburg University men's basketball team could not prevent a second-half comeback that saw the Kutztown outscore the Warriors by 19 points, falling to the Golden Bears by a score of 90-87 on Wednesday afternoon inside Koehler Fieldhouse.
With the loss, the Warriors (19-7, 13-7) drop from second to fourth place in the PSAC Standings, after Millersville (17-9, 14-6 PSAC) defeated first-place Shippensburg (16-9, 14-5 PSAC) and West Chester (18-7, 13-6 PSAC) holds a half game a edge after its 64-63 win over Shepherd. ESU holds tiebreakers (head-to-head) over both Shippensburg and Millersville, but West Chester holds a tiebreaker (head-to-head) against the Warriors.
The loss for ESU was its first against Kutztown over its past 13 contests and snapped a 19-game home winning streak in the month of February. ESU suffered its first loss at home in the month since 2018-19.
Notables
- Lakeem McAliley posted 26 points to lead the Warriors, knocking down 7-of-13 field goal attempts and all 11 of his free throw opportunities. He grabbed four rebounds and added an assist.
- Justin Paz totaled 13 points, making of his 12 attempts from the field. He distributed a game-high five assists.
- Carlos Pepin reached double figures for the seventh consecutive game and the 25th time in 26 games with 12 points. He brought down six rebounds and earned three steals.
- Jaelen McGlone added nine points and stuffed the stat sheet with three rebounds, two assists, along with a block and a steal.
- ESU held a 45-25 advantage with 1:40 to go in the first half, before KU recorded four points in the final 35 seconds to trail by 16 points at 45-29 at halftime. The Golden Bears shot the lights out in the second half, making 19-of-28 field goal attempts (67.9%), while ESU countered with a 41.4 percent mark (12-29 FG) over the final 20 minutes.
- In an eerily similar game to the first meeting on Jan. 23, ESU trailed by 19 points in the first half and came back to win. This time, Kutztown trailed by 20 points in the first half and pulled off the comeback.
- Jalen Bryant led the comeback effort with 23 of his 27 points coming in the second half, making all 12 of his free throws in the second half. Kyree Generett tallied 23 points, while Robert Tucker totaled 18 and Josh Samec added 10.
How It Happened
- With the score tied at 14-14 at the 12:55 mark, the Warriors dominated the next 9:20 of clock, boasting a 31-11 run, a McAliley led the charge with nine points. ESU scored seven turnovers during the stretch and held KU to shoot 4-of-13. As ESU boasted the game-high 20 point lead at 45-25, the Golden Bears score the final four points to take a 16-point deficit into the locker room.
- The Golden Bears cut the deficit to 10 at 52-42 following a quick 13-7 run. The Warriors were able to extend the lead back to 13, but KU continued to claw back, scoring nine consecutive points to make it a 55-51 game with 13:48 left.
- For the time being, ESU kept the scoreboard edge. Leading 67-61 with 7:27 left, the Golden Bears grabbed the lead at 70-69 following a 9-2 surge. After a Millsip free throw tied the score at 74-74, KU took control with a 14-6 run to take an eight-point lead at 88-80, as ESU made 1-of-6 attempts late, while KU buried 4-of-5, including a couple of 3-pointers. Paz knocked down a clutch 3-pointer and Pepin followed with a layup with seven seconds left to make it a one-possession game, but KU made two late free throws to seal the game. Paz added a jumper late with a second left, but the Warriors ran out of time with the final score at 90-87 in favor of the visitors.
Up Next
