ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. — The ESU men's basketball team wrapped up non-conference play with a 106-91 win over Molloy Tuesday night. The Warriors improved to 6-0 with three wins at home and three on the road.
NOTABLES
- Adrian Brito was a force offensively, as he found success with and without the ball in his hands. The freshman forward made 75.0% of his shots for 21 points and recorded four assists and rebounds each to complete his stat line.
- Nasir Griffin finished as ESU's second-leading scorer in back-to-back games, following up his 18-point performance against Mercy with a 17-point showing tonight. Griffin got to the line with ease, making eight free throws, while also disrupting the Molloy with three steals.
- Ethan Maynard bounced back with a 16-point outing, his most points as a Warrior. The sophomore guard made three three-pointers dished out a team-high five assists.
- Jalen Pichardo grabbed double-digit rebounds for the second time in as many games, finishing with 13. After setting a career-high with 17 against Mercy, Pichardo ended with five offensive and eight defensive rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Warriors had some trouble getting the scoring started out of the gate, as Molloy jumped ahead 8-2 in the first three minutes. Once some of the second unit was subbed into the game, the Warriors converted on a couple of clean looks, starting with a pullup jump shot from Terrell Pitts for ESU's first field goal 3:18 into the game. The teams traded buckets in the possessions after, as Brito assisted on two makes and made a layup himself to make it 16-11 in favor of Molloy with 14:08 left in the half.
- The starters came back in shortly after for ESU, and the guard duo of Christian Pierre-Louis and Maynard found success on the offensive end of the floor. Pierre-Louis grabbed an offensive board that he followed up with a made layup, then immediately after a Molloy miss, attacked the rim for another layup to make two field goals in 18 seconds. Maynard got the next eight points for ESU, making a three-pointer off a Griffin assist, cashing a pullup jumper, and converting a feed from Carson Howard for another three-pointer, trimming the deficit to one with 11:35 remaining.
- The Warriors offense went through a mini cold stretch as they fell behind by seven, but a late surge gave ESU its first lead of the night. A 3:26, 12-0 run put ESU ahead 45-40 in the final two minutes, as Brito started to find a rhythm offensively. The Lions didn't have an answer for the freshman, as he was able to slash and work in the post for half of ESU's points on the run. The Warriors were able to stay in front going into the break, leading 51-48 after 20 minutes.
- After the first five minutes, the game remained close and within a possession for the majority of the time. The next six minutes though, ESU took over and put the game out of reach. A Brito three-pointer off a Maynard assist got the scoring started, followed by a putback by Pichardo off an offensive rebound. As the Warriors started to pour it on on the offensive side of the court, they shut down the Lions offense on the other end. During the 23-5 run, ESU held Molloy to just 1-7 from the field and forced five turnovers, building an 89-70 lead. After Molloy made a three-pointer to stop the run and forced a couple of misses, a behind-the-back pass from Brito was capped off by a Griffin dunk to stomp the Lions' hopes of a comeback.
GAME NOTES
- Pichardo has recorded double-digit rebounds in consecutive games, the only two instances so far this season a Warrior has grabbed at least 10 boards.
- Brito broke the 20-point plateau for the first time in his career and was the first of ESU's freshman class to do so.
- The Warriors are 6-0 to start the season, the first time since 2022-23 when they opened the season with eight-straight wins.
UP NEXT
The Warriors open up PSAC competition in a men's and women's doubleheader this weekend against Seton Hill. The ESU men's team will host the Griffins at 3:00 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6 at Koehler Fieldhouse.
