MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – Trailing by 14 points early in the second half, the No. 15 East Stroudsburg University men's basketball team erased the deficit and tied the contest three times over the final three minutes, but ultimately came up short in a 93-88 loss to Millersville on Saturday afternoon at Pucillo Gymnasium.
With the loss, the Warriors (22-4, 16-4) slide to second place in the PSAC East. The Marauders (22-4, 17-3) now lead the PSAC East by a single game and control their destiny as a potential top seed in the eastern division in the upcoming PSAC Tournament with two games remaining.
The hot-shooting Marauders shot 63 percent from the floor (34-54 FG) and 50 percent (8-16 3PT) from long distance. Millersville was led by Matt Dade's 37 points.
Notables
- ESU was led by Lakeem McAliley, who neared a double-double performance with 25 points and eight rebounds, along with collecting two steals and a block. Tyshawn Trail knocked down 6-8 attempts from the field and 4-6 from the stripe for 19 points. The Warriors were previously undefeated when McAliley recorded at least 12 points (20-0) in a game this season.
- Also reaching double-figures in scoring were Justin Paz (14 pts) and Jaelen McGlone (13 pts). Shamir Johnson added nine points and three assists, while Cam Young cleaned the glass with nine points. Jalen Pichardo totaled five rebounds and three assists, along with picking up a steal.
- The Warriors held advantages in rebounding (34-26), second-chance points (15-2) and bench points (30-14).
- Along with Dade's 37 points, Jaden Faulkner and Jame Ested each added 11 points.
- With two games remaining, the Warriors look to take care of business at Kutztown on Wednesday and against Mansfield on Saturday at Koehler Fieldhouse. If Millersville wins its final games against West Chester and Lock Haven and ESU earns victories against the Golden Bears and Mounties, the Marauders earn the top seed, but the Warriors will still earn a first-round bye as the No. 2 seed from the PSAC East in the PSAC East Tournament.
- Along with hoping to collect a pair of wins to close the season, ESU hopes for a loss from Lock Haven in at least one of its final three games against Shippensburg (Feb. 25), Bloomsburg (Feb. 28) or Millersville (March 2.) or that Millersville drops both of its remaining games to get the second seed from the PSAC East in the conference tournament.
How It Happened
- With Millersville leading 15-13, a 20-10 spurt for the Marauders lifted 'Ville to a 35-23 lead. ESU was able to slice the deficit to single digits at 37-28, but Millersville scored nine of the final 14 points in the half, taking a 46-33 lead in to the locker room.
- After the intermission, Millersville kept the lead an arms length away until a 19-12 sprint lifted ESU to within three points of Millersville at 73-70. Millersville maintained its lead for the moment, but the Warriors would tie the game three times over the final three minutes at 83-83, 86-86 and 88-88, but the Marauders seemed to always have an answer.
- After McGlone knocked down two free throws to knot the game at 88-88, Dade countered with a layup to grab a 90-88 advantage. A missed Warrior 3-pointer and A Millersville rebound, forced ESU to foul, as Dade knocked down both to make it a five-point game. The Warriors could not sink a 3-pointer late, as JD Gross made one of two free throw attempts with less than 10 seconds remaining to put the game on ice for the final score of 93-88.
Up Next
- The Warriors head to Kutztown for its road regular-season finale on Wednesday. Tipoff in Keystone Gymnasium is set for 7:30 p.m.
