ETTRICK, Va. — The ESU men's basketball team outlasted Virginia State in down-to-the-wire finish to wrap up the Trojan Tip-Off Classic, winning 79-78.
NOTABLES
- Freshman Keni Williams followed up his strong collegiate debut from yesterday by leading the Warriors in scoring with 16 points. The first-year guard ended the night 5-9 from the field, making a three-pointer and all five of his free throw attempts.
- Similarly, freshman Adrian Brito also had a solid encore in his second game, reaching double-digit scoring in both of his appearances for the Warriors to start his career. Brito was 4-5 from the field in 14 minutes and also grabbed three rebounds.
- Guards Ethan Maynard and Ethan Millirons led ESU in three-point shooting, each ending with three makes.
- Nasir Griffin and Jalen Pichardo led ESU in rebounding, with Griffin grabbing seven boards and Pichardo securing six. Each had five on the defensive end.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The game was even from start to finish, but the Warriors were the first to jump ahead and build a stable lead halfway through the first half. Maynard sparked a 9-0 run by scoring the first five points himself, and was capped off by Williams hitting a three-point shot to make it 22-13 with 9:53 in the half.
- After a 7-0 run narrowed the gap for Virginia State, a 13-2 stretch pushed East Stroudsburg's lead to double figures. Four different Warriors scored to balance out the ESU offense as the lead grew to 35-22 with 7:27 remaining.
- However, the Trojans made a strong push to close the gap and even retake the lead before halftime. In the following six minutes, the Warriors turned the ball over three times and were unable to score, allowing Virginia State to go on a 18-4 run and jump ahead 40-39. Kevin Coleman would score the final four points of the half to put East Stroudsburg ahead 43-40 going into halftime.
- The two teams were neck-and-neck the entirety of the second half, with the largest lead of the final 20 minutes being five points for the Warriors.
- Davon Lee snapped a five-minute stretch where ESU went without a made field goal, making a midrange jumper with 1:48 to go and make the score 76-73.
- Millirons came up with a huge three-point shot late in the game for East Stroudsburg with 23 seconds remaining. Terrell Pitts drove and found his teammate open beyond the arc, and Millirons extended the Warriors' lead to 79-75.
- After the Trojans made a quick shot and got the ball back, Davon Lee came up with a game-winning stop on Jacob Cooper out of timeout. Cooper started near the corner and tried driving into the paint, but Lee held his ground and forced an off-balance floater that bounced around the rim. Pitts grabbed the rebound and raced down the floor to run the clock out.
GAME NOTES
- Despite how close the game was, East Stroudsburg spent 31:43 with the lead, while Virginia State was ahead for just 6:01. There were 14 lead changes and five ties.
- This is the first time the Warriors have opened up their season with two road games since 2017-18, when ESU also went 2-0 with wins over Clarion and Pitt-Johnstown.
- East Stroudsburg and Virginia State have only played each other once prior to tonight's matchup, coming in 2019 when the Trojans beat ESU in Shippensburg, Pa.
UP NEXT
The Warriors complete a stretch of three games in four days with their home opener at 7 p.m. on Monday night in Koehler Fieldhouse against Chestnut Hill.
