SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – After seeing its once 17-point second-half lead shrunk to four with under four minutes remaining, the No. 10/7 East Stroudsburg University men's basketball team finished strong, taking down Shippensburg, 85-73, on Saturday afternoon at Heiges Fieldhouse.
The Warriors (21-3, 15-3 PSAC) bounced back, picking up their 15th win over its past 17 games and remain tied for first place atop of the PSAC East standings. The Raiders (8-17, 4-15) fall for the second-straight game and have dropped both matchups against ESU this season.
Notables
- ESU was led by three double-figure scorers in Lakeem McAliley (16 pts.), Nasir Griffin (15 pts), and Justin Paz (13 pts.). Griffin cleaned the glass with two rebounds, nearing a double double, while adding a block and a steal. McAliley was limited to 16 minutes of action due to foul trouble, before earning his fifth foul in the second half.
- Shamir Johnson added nine points off the bench, while Jalen Pichardo registered eight points and seven rebounds. Tyshawn Trail stuffed the stat sheet with six points, four assists, two blocks and three steals.
- Nine players recorded at least six points for ESU, while eight recorded at least one and assist and six swiped a possession with a steal in the balanced performance.
- Markus Frank led SU with 31 points (12-15 FG), Denzel Figueroa also reached double digits with 12 points. Kyle Whippen cleaned the glass with 13 rebounds.
- ESU knocked down 8-19 attempts from 3-point land, while holding the Raiders to a 3-18 mark from long range. The Warriors also held advantages in points off turnovers (25-16), bench points (29-22), fastbreak points (16-12) and steals (10-8), while committing six less turnovers than the Raiders (24-18).
- With McAliley's 16-point game, the redshirt junior from Philadelphia has now posted at least 16 points in 10 of 13 PSAC East contests this season. The Warriors are undefeated (19-0) when the two-time All-PSAC East selections record at least 12 points, compared to a 2-3 mark when he doesn't score at least a dozen points.
- ESU improves to 11-1 on the road this season, earning win in 13 of its past 14 road trips dating back to last season.
How It Happened
- It was a defensive first half, which featured just 63 points combined for both squads.
- Both teams traded points through the first 10 minutes of the first half, until ESU was able to gain separation with a 14-4 run to take a 27-19 edge with 4:44 left in the opening half. The Warriors closed the frame strong with nine of the final 14 points, taking a 36-27 advantage into the locker room.
- In the second half, the Warriors built a game-high 17-point lead at 53-36 after opening the second half with a 9-5 run, but SU stormed back with a 29-18 sprint to cut the deficit to just four points with 3:53 remaining.
- The Warriors would not allow the Raiders to get any closer, keeping its lead and closing the game on a 13-6 run to take home an 85-73 win.
Up Next
- The Warriors return home on Wednesday against Bloomsburg. Tipoff against the Huskies at Koehler Fieldhouse is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
