EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. — After getting back in the win column last time out against Slippery Rock, the Warriors head south to take on a familiar opponent in Millersville to begin PSAC East competition. 

SCOUTING EAST STROUDSBURG

• After getting off to a strong 6-0 start, ESU has faced some adversity and owns an 8-4 record going into divisional play. The Warriors split their most recent road trip, dropping a non-conference game to California (Pa.) but finishing strong against Slippery Rock in an 84-76 win.
• Missing two of their projected starters, the Warriors have tested a couple different starting lineups. Their minutes distribution has more been about chemistry and play style rather than who plays more, as 10 players average 15.5 MPG or more with Jalen Pichardo leading with 25.3 MPG.
• What has been Pichardo’s calling card so far has been his rebounding ability. Cementing himself as one of the top second-chance creators in Division II, Pichardo is first in the conference and 17th nationally with 3.75 offensive rebounds per game. He’s sixth in the PSAC in total rebounds per game with 8.1.
• Pichardo is one of three Warriors to start every game for ESU, the other two being Nasir Griffin and Ethan Maynard. Griffin is suiting up in his 100th career game as a Warrior, starting in 47 of them and putting up 8.4 PPG and 4.3 RPG while shooting 49.5% from the field. 
• The senior forward was also recognized by the conference before the holiday break, earning PSAC East Offensive Athlete of the Week. In Griffin’s three-game stretch at Clarion and against Pitt-Johnstown and Indiana (Pa.), he put up 12.7 points per contest and shot an efficient 53.6% from the field. 
• Maynard, a sophomore transfer who’s taken over as the lead scoring option in the backcourt, is starting to settle in offensively in PSAC play. Maynard’s averaged 12.3 points across his last three conference games, a slight uptick from his 11.6 PPG on the season. 
• Maynard has taken 67 shots from three-point distance, making 27 for a 40.3% shooting percentage. The only Warrior on the team with more attempts is Ethan Millirons, one of the best shooters in all of Division II this season. Millirons, who was shooting above 60.0% from downtown at one point, has come back down a little bit but has still shot 52.1% on 73 attempts. He is currently second in Division II and first in the PSAC in three-point shooting percentage.
• Millirons and Adrian Brito, two of ESU’s top four scorers, have stepped up as the leaders of the Warriors’ second unit. Brito has reached double-digit scoring in all five PSAC games, averaging an even 12.0 PPG and making just under half of his attempts with a 47.6% field goal percentage. The freshman has shown a real improvement in his defensive work his last three outings, putting up 2.0 blocks per game and 6.3 rebounds per game while staying out of foul trouble.
• Carson Howard has bounced between being the starting center and entering the game with the rest of the bench unit, having one of his best games of the season against Slippery Rock as a reserve. Howard recorded over 10 points for the first time since Dec. 2 against Molloy, putting up 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting, helping the Warriors close out their win against The Rock with a couple of crucial makes in close. 
• As a team, the Warriors rank inside the top 10 nationally in three stats — bench points per game, assists per game, and offensive rebounds per game. ESU is second in Division II in bench scoring, putting up 44.4 PPG behind two double-digit scorers as backups, eighth with 18.9 assists per game, and ninth with 16.3 offensive rebounds per game.

SCOUTING MILLERSVILLE

• The Marauders enter PSAC East play as the top team in the division, sporting a 3-2 in-conference record while going 8-4 overall. ‘Ville is 2-2 in its last four games, dropping close games against Gannon and Indiana (Pa.) while beating Bowie State and Pitt-Johnstown. 
• In the Marauders’ four losses, they have all been by narrow margins and are only a couple of plays away from flipping the results. Millersville’s losses have come by five-, two-, four-, and three-point margins while averaging a point differential of 14.4 points in its wins.
• It will be a new-look Millersville team compared to what East Stroudsburg has faced in the past, as 2024-25 PSAC East Athlete of the Year Drew Stover is no longer down low for the Marauders. Instead, the focus turns to Saraj Ali, a senior forward who made All-PSAC East First Team last season. Ali is first in the conference in field goal percentage, making 61.9% of his attempts for a second-best 17.9 PPG on the team. 
• The Marauders’ leading scorer, Day Waters, has stepped into a lead role in his return to Millersville. After playing the 2024-25 season at Slippery Rock, rejoined Millersville as its starting small forward, leading the team in overall scoring, three-point shooting, free throws, and minutes played. Waters ranks 26th in Division II with 20.8 PPG while barely coming off the floor, averaging 35.4 MPG.
• Waters is one of four Marauders to earn a PSAC East weekly award, earning Athlete of the Week in early December after eclipsing the 1,000-point mark in his career. Another transfer standout for Millersville is center Cesar Tchilombo. The redshirt junior from Northern Kentucky was named PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Week on Dec. 1 after a double-double, his first of four on the season. Tchilombo has been a top-five rebounder in the conference, ranking fourth with 8.7 per game with 5.9 on the defensive glass.
• A pair of guards has earned the Marauders’ other two PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Week awards, with Aamir Hust being the most recent winner. Hurst has started every game for Millersville and averages just under two steals and one block per game. Dante Weise, one of Millersville’s lead guards off the bench, was recognized by the conference in the second week of the season.
• Millersville has been the best team in the conference in terms of generating and converting free throws. The Marauders are first in free throw attempts per game, 27.2, free throws made per game, 21.5, and free throw percentage, 79.1. In addition to leading the PSAC in all three categories, Millersville ranks inside the top 10 Division II as well.

SERIES HISTORY

• One of ESU’s longest tenured rivalries, the two teams first met in 1931 and have played each other 164 times. The Marauders hold the historical advantage in the series, as the Warriors have gone 61-103 against Millersville. But, since Wilson took over in 2002-03, ESU has turned the tide, going 29-19 under Wilson and 14-9 since 2010. When going against the Casey Stitzel-led Marauders, Millersville’s head coach since 2016-17, ESU is 13-6.
• Despite the positive record against the Marauders for Wilson’s Warriors, Millersville has defended home court well. ESU is just 10-14 at Millersville with Wilson on the bench. Additionally, the home team has won the last six meetings since Feb. 11, 2023.
• The Warriors have scored at least 85 points in four of the last five games against Millersville, holding the Marauders to 77 or fewer three times during the same stretch.