WEST CHESTER, Pa. – The No. 16/13 East Stroudsburg University men's basketball team forced 23 turnovers and Southeastern Pennsylvania natives
Lakeem McAliley and
Jaelen McGlone combined for 47 points in a dominant 94-79 road win over rival West Chester on Saturday afternoon at Hollinger Fieldhouse.
The nationally ranked Warriors (13-1, 7-1 PSAC) extend their winning streak to eight in the road PSAC East victory, while the Golden Rams (8-5, 6-4 PSAC) drop to third place with the loss.
McAliley recorded a game-high 27 points in the win, while grabbing five rebounds, distributing four assists, and posting four steals. McGlone followed with 20 points, five rebounds and a pair of assists.
Tyshawn Trail added 14 points and two assists.
Notables
- Along with ESU's three double-figure scorers, Carson Howard (9 pts.), Cam Young (8 pts.), Nasir Griffin (7 pts., 3 assists) and Shamir Johnson (7 pts.) all contributed offensively.
- Justin Paz ran the offense successfully, leading the game with nine assists and recorded a pair of steals. Over his past two contests, Paz has distributed 20 assists after dishing 11 against Goldey-Beacom on Wednesday. The Bethlehem Catholic product ranks eighth in the conference in assists and paces the league in assist/turnover ratio (3.1).
- Jalen Pichardo cleaned the glass with seven rebounds off the bench.
- The Golden Rams also had a pair of 20-point scorers in Joshua Walker (23 pts.) and Robert Smith (20 pts.). Jordan Kellier added 15 points and led the game with eight rebounds.
- The Warriors led in field goal percentage (51.5% - 44.1%), 3-point field goal percentage (38.1% - 33.3%), assists (23-10), steals (10-6) and had eight less turnovers. Additionally, the Warriors led in fastbreak points (16-10), points off turnovers (36-9) and points in the paint (42-30).
- Dating back to the 2018-19 season, the Warriors have won eight of the past 10 meetings against WCU.
- McAliley has recorded double-digits in scoring in eight consecutive games during ESU's winning streak and his 27-point performance marks his third 20-point outburst over his past eights games. His four steals and four dimes match his season highs in their respective categories.
- The Warriors, who ranked second in the latest Division II College Sports Communicators Atlantic Region Poll, could move up a spot to lead the region, as first-place California (Pa.) suffered an 89-72 loss to Slippery Rock on Saturday. With the Vulcans' loss, ESU is now the lone one-loss team in the 18-member Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference
How It Happened
- After McAliley opened the scoring with a layup, West Chester slowly took momentum with a 12-5 run to grab a 12-7 lead. With WCU holding a 16-11 edge, a Trail jumper and Johnson trey tied the contest at 16. After four points from WCU, the Warriors used a 10-0 scoring run to take a 28-22 edge. After a free throw, ESU used a 7-0 spurt to take a 12-point advantage at 35-23. A WCU 3-pointer from Luke Boyd ended the sprint.
- The final 22 points in the half were split evenly, as the Warriors took a nine-point advantage at 46-37 into the locker room.
- Similar to the first half, McAliley opened the scoring with a dunk, recording a steal on the way to his slam. WCU then scored six straight points to cut the Warriors lead to five at 48-43. As the two rivals traded points, ESU took control of the contest with a 10-0 surge, featuring five points each from Cam Young and Carson Howard, as ESU led 67-51 with 9:42 remaining.
- From that point on, the Warriors held a lead of at least 12 points and grew its advantage to as high as 22 points following another 10-0 spurt late in the contest. WCU closed the game strong with an 11-4 sprint, but the Warriors ultimately earned a 94-79 road win over the Golden Rams.
Up Next
- The Warriors (13-1, 7-1 PSAC) open the PSAC East home slate on Wednesday, when ESU welcomes second-place Lock Haven (8-5, 6-2 PSAC) for a 7:30 p.m. tip inside Koehler Fieldhouse.
- The doubleheader against the Bald Eagles marks the first ESU basketball games broadcasted by Blue Ridge TV-13 this season, which will be simulcasted on the PSAC Sports Digital Network.
