LOCK HAVEN, Pa. — The East Stroudsburg Warriors survived a hard-fought battle, beating Lock Haven on the road 80-76 on Wednesday night. ESU is now 13-6 in conference play and moved up to the second seed in the PSAC East standings.
 
NOTABLES

• Ethan Maynard was hot for the Warriors from start to finish, finishing with a team-high 20 points. Early on, Maynard was feeling it from downtown, hitting three three-pointers in the first eight minutes of the contest. He ended with 4-6 from beyond the arc and added six rebounds. Maynard came up with a clutch rebound and two free throws in the final seconds to seal the deal for the Warriors' victory.
• Jalen Pichardo was dominant in the paint, posting a near double-double in typical fashion. The forward finished the game with eight points and nine rebounds, three of them coming on the offensive side. Pichardo's game was highlighted by a critical offensive rebound and putback in the final two minutes, matching the Bald Eagles' offense down the stretch.
• Keni Williams brought some offense off the bench, recording 14 points for an ESU second unit that outscored Lock Haven's 37-13. Williams was a perfect 2-2 from beyond the arc and dished out three assists as well.

• East Stroudsburg started the game on fire, hitting five three-pointers and taking a 12-point lead eight minutes into the game. A little over halfway through the first half, after a Keni Williams deep-ball, ESU would extend its lead to 15, which would be its largest lead of the game. The Warriors were doing it on both sides of the ball, holding the Bald Eagles to only 11 points with seven minutes remaining in the first half. 
• Lock Haven slowly began to crawl their way back into the game and would cut the Warriors' lead to five with a minute left on the clock in the first half. The sharpshooter Ethan Millirons then hit one of his two three-pointers of the night to extend the ESU advantage to eight points, before the Bald Eagles would shorten it back to six points as the game went to the break, 36-30.
• Both teams shot over 50.0% in the second half, as the game picked up offensively. The Warriors looked to pull away as Ethan Maynard nailed another three-pointer to put ESU ahead by 14 near the halfway point of the half. 
• However, Lock Haven would not go away easily, similarly to its push going into halftime, slowly stacking basket after basket. East Stroudsburg kept the lead between six and 11 points for a good portion of the second half, as Nasir Griffin finished a layup off a Keni Williams assist to push the advantage to eight with four minutes remaining. 
• Lock Haven went on to cut the lead to three with a little over a minute to go, as this game would end up coming down to the wire. Jalen Pichardo came up with a relentless offensive rebound and putback that would extend the lead to five for the Warriors. After a Bald Eagle jumper was made, the two teams traded free throws, and Lock Haven was given a chance to take the lead down two with 12 seconds left on the clock. Terrell Pitts stood tall with a defensive stop at the rim, and Ethan Maynard cleaned things up, grabbing a defensive rebound and heading to the line after getting fouled. Maynard knocked down two key free throws and secured the win for East Stroudsburg.

• The Warriors only shot 10 free throws all game, including Maynard's two after he was intentionally fouled with one second remaining. The only time ESU shot fewer free throws this season was earlier against the Bald Eagles when the Warriors had seven attempts. On the other side, Lock Haven had even fewer trips to the free-throw line, taking nine attempts. 
• ESU's eight made three-pointers were the second most in a half for them this season. The Warriors made 10 in the second half against Seton Hill.
• East Stroudsburg finished with a perfect split on offense, with half of its points coming from within the paint.
• With the season winding down and two games left on the Warriors' schedule, seeding in the PSAC East is coming down to tiebreakers. West Chester currently leads the division with a 13-5 conference record, with ESU and Millersville right behind, tied at 13-6. The Warriors own the advantage over the Marauders, as they swept the season series. Shepherd is right there in fourth place, trailing the tie for second by half a game with a 12-6 PSAC record.

 
UP NEXT
The Warriors get a chance to rest before heading into the final two games of the season, as they're off until next Wednesday. ESU welcomes Kutztown for the team's senior day and the university's PSAC 75 celebration at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 25 in Koehler Fieldhouse.