LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – In a wild regular-season finale that featured an 18-3 scoring run for the East Stroudsburg University men's basketball team and a 21-4 counter from Lock Haven, the Warriors ultimately held off the Bald Eagles, 77-64, on Wednesday night at Thomas Fieldhouse.
With the win, the Warriors (21-7, 15-7 PSAC) close the regular season and secure a PSAC First Round home game on Monday night. The Bald Eagles (16-10, 12-9 PSAC) head to Shippensburg on Saturday in its regular-season finale.
Carlos Pepin led the way for the Warriors with his 13th double-double of the season, stuffing the stat sheet with 20 points (9-15 FG), 11 rebounds, four assists, four blocks and five steals.
Notables
- Davon Lee posted a career-high with 15 points (7-12 FG), adding five rebounds and four assists. Jaelen McGlone totaled 14 points, while Nasir Griffin added 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
- Justin Paz sunk 3-of-6 attempts from long distance for nine points, also contributing four assists and three steals.
- The Warriors held Lock Haven to shoot a near season-low of 34.8 percent (23-66) and shot a tad better at a 42.3 percent (30-71) clip. The Warriors made 12-of-14 chances from the free-throw line.
- The Warriors led in rebounds (45-43), assists (18-10), blocks (8-4) and steals (16-7), while having less turnovers (20-22). ESU also held advantages in points off turnovers (27-14), points in the paint (38-30) and fastbreak points (17-11).
How It Happened
- It was a defensive battle in the first half to say the least, as ESU and Lock Haven combined for 39 points through the first 15 minutes of action. Neither team gained a significant advantage early on.
- With ESU leading 24-21, Lock Haven's Dymir Montague was charged with a flagrant foul at the 2:35 on Nasir Griffin. Upset with the call, LHU head coach Mike Nester was charged with a technical. As a result, the Warriors were awarded four free-throw attempts, as Griffin and Dave Duda made all four attempts. ESU seized momentum with the sequence, closing the first half strong. ESU ultimately closed the first half on an 18-3 run, including 13-consecutive points over the final 2:57 of action.
- The Warriors advantage blossomed to as high as 22 points at 47-25 following a 10-4 run to open the second half. LHU never conceded and fought back strong. A 21-4 surge by the Bald Eagles sliced the deficit to just five points with 10:36 remaining.
- ESU would not relinquish the scoreboard edge, as a Griffin hoop and harm layup along with a Pepin layup allowed the Warriors to retake a double-digit lead to 56-46. The teams were near even the rest of the way, as ESU outscored LHU, 21-18 over the final 6:51 to secure home court for its first postseason contest.
Up Next
- ESU has a bye on the final Saturday of the regular season and finishes the slate with a 21-7, 15-7 PSAC record.
- ESU will host a PSAC Tournament game, either in the PSAC First Round on Monday, Feb. 27 or could earn a first-round bye on Wednesday, March 1.
- If Shippensburg defeats Lock Haven at home on Saturday, the Raiders earn the No. 1 seed in the PSAC East, West Chester takes the PSAC East No. 2 seed, ESU then earns the No. 3 seed, holding the potential tiebreaker over Millersville, who would the No. 4 seed. In this scenario, No. 3 seed ESU would face No. 6 Shepherd at Koehler Fieldhouse on Monday night.
- If Shippensburg loses to Lock Haven, ESU has the potential to jump to No. 1 or No. 2, depending on other outcomes.
- Stay tuned to esuwarriors.com for the latest schedule updates.
