EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. — The ESU men's basketball team took care of business on home court against Shippensburg on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Raiders 76-64. ESU improved to 12-6 in conference to hold their third-place positioning in the PSAC East.
NOTABLES
- Adrian Brito had a near-perfect shooting performance, nearly matching his season-high in scoring with 19 points. Brito shot 7-8 from the field, showing off his range by making both his three-point attempts. Rounding out his performance, the freshman grabbed six rebounds, dished out four assists, and recorded two steals.
- Nasir Griffin stayed hot on offense, scoring another 14 points to end the week. Following up his 22-point outing against Mansfield on Wednesday, Griffin went 5-9 from the field and 3-5 from beyond the arc, recording seven rebounds in 25 minutes.
- Ethan Maynard continued to string together positive offensive performances, putting up 10 points in 20 minutes. Maynard shot 50.0% from deep on four attempts, nabbing two steals and three rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Warriors got out ahead early, playing with a lead this time around against Shippensburg. ESU led for just over 90% of the game, though Shippensburg kept the game close until late. Both teams' defense stood tall in the opening five minutes, as the score was tied 6-6. A 9-2 ESU run gave the Warriors a cushion, as Griffin, Terrell Pitts, and Keni Williams got the offense going, and the Raiders committed four turnovers. Shippensburg trimmed its deficit to three again, but ESU rattled off seven-straight points to push the lead to 29-19 with under five to go in the half. The Raiders wouldn't go away, making up some ground going into halftime trailing 36-30.
- ESU held its lead in the opening half of the second half, keeping Shippensburg at bay while the margin bounced between five and 10 points. The Warriors gradually crept closer to a consistent double-digit lead with eight minutes to go, as Griffin hit a three-pointer off an assist from Brito to make it 60-49 with 8:44 remaining. Once the lead broke 10 points, the offense began to cash in on more looks, with Ethan Millirons making another shot from deep and Christian Pierre-Louis adding a layup. The closest Shippensburg would get the rest of the way was 11 points, as the Warriors controlled play down the stretch to put the game away with a 76-64 win.
GAME NOTES
- ESU has won its last four games against the Raiders at Koehler Fieldhouse, all by double-digits with an average margin of victory of 23.0 PPG.
- The Warriors double up Shippensburg in two key categories: fastbreak points and bench scoring. ESU recorded 23 points in transition and got 40 from its reserves, whereas Shippensburg only scored 11 fastbreak points and 18 points outside of its starting five.
- Both teams stayed out of foul trouble and didn't give up many trips at all to the free-throw line, as ESU shot 13 free throws and Shippensburg only attempted 10. Both were the third-fewest in terms of free throw attempts for ESU and its opponent this season.
- The Warriors had their best shooting performance of the season in terms of FG%, making 58.0% of their attempts from the field. The only time ESU shot better from three-point range than the 56.3% clip it posted today was its win at Clarion on Dec. 16 when the Warriors went 13-21 from long range.
UP NEXT
ESU has a light week coming up, with only one game on the schedule and three total in the regular season. The Warriors travel to Lock Haven to take on the Bald Eagles at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 18.
