EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. — The ESU men's basketball team lost a close game to Pitt-Johnstown Saturday afternoon, falling 83-79 to the Mountain Cats. The Warriors are now 7-2 overall and 1-2 in PSAC play.
NOTABLES
- The Warriors didn't have any scorers record over 15 points, but they did have five players reach double figures. Adrian Brito and Ethan Maynard tied for the team lead with 12 points, and Jalen Pichardo and Christian Pierre-Louis each had 11. Nasir Griffin rounded out the group with 10 points.
- Griffin was active on both ends, leading both teams in steals and recording half of ESU's 10 as a team.
- Pichardo had one of his best offensive games of the season, going a perfect 4-for-4 from the field.
- ESU forced plenty of turnovers, with a good portion of them coming from the Warriors' full-court pressure. Pitt-Johnstown committed 23 turnovers while only forcing ESU into 13.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Both teams' first possessions ended in turnovers, and after a second offensive rebound, Carson Howard got to the line and scored the game's first points. ESU got another quick six points, two coming off a Griffin steal that led to a layup for Howard.
- The Warrior's top outside shooter, Ethan Millirons, came in after three minutes and knocked down his first attempt from deep to put ESU ahead 12-6. The Mountain Cats started to get going offensively as Jay Rose found Baden Forup for an open dunk, and Vinnie Cugini scored the next four points to even the game up.
- Rose hit a three to put Pitt-Johnstown ahead 21-18 with 11 minutes remaining, but the Warriors immediately went on a 9-0 run to retake the lead. A Griffin layup off a Saleem Payne assist opened the run, but the defense was what turned momentum. ESU made it tough on Cedric Rault, who was inbounding for Pitt-Johnstown and entered the game fifth in the conference with 4.7 assists per game, as they pressured back-to-back turnovers before the Mountain Cats could cross half court. Griffin forced the first, leading to a layup from Howard later in the possession, and Terrell Pitts intercepted Rault's next pass and drew a foul to get to the line. After the media timeout, Rault threw a third pass out of bounds that turned into an Ethan Maynard three-pointer right after. Capping off the run, the Warriors drew an offensive foul, and Griffin added two more points off a second-chance dunk to put ESU ahead by eight with 10:10 remaining in the half.
- The Warriors held the lead for the rest of the first half, going into the break with a 43-38 advantage.
- The Mountain Cats chipped away at the lead to start the second half and went ahead, 46-45, 2:09 into the second half. The game remained within one possession as there seven lead changes and two tie during a stretch of 7:28 to 12:07 until Pitt-Johnstown inched ahead, 60-54.
- After falling behind, 68-62, ESU went on a one-minute run to close the gap. Free throws from Maynard and Pierre-Louis got it to within a possession, and Maynard made a three-pointer off an assist from Pierre-Louis to give the Warriors a one-point lead with 6:49 remaining.
- The Mountain Cats responded with an 8-0 run during the next two minutes, with their lead reaching eight points at one time, and remained ahead for the rest of the game.
GAME NOTES
- The Warriors bench was outscored for the first time this season, as the Mountain Cats held the advantage in that category, 29-27.
- Both teams only made four three-pointers in the game, but ESU attempted 23 to Pitt-Johnstown's nine.
- The Warriors had an unfortunate combination of shooting their lowest field goal percentage of the season, 35.6%, and allowing their highest field goal percentage, 55.7%.
UP NEXT
ESU has a chance to get back in the win column tomorrow, hosting Indiana (Pa.) at 3 p.m. at Koehler Fieldhouse.
