EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. — The Warriors continue their push for a PSAC Championship, with a quarterfinal matchup against the top seed in the west, the Gannon Golden Knights.

SCOUTING EAST STROUDSBURG

• ESU finished the season as the No. four seed in the east, beating the fifth-seeded Shippensburg Raiders 87-80 in the first round. The Warriors were led by Keni Williams, Adrian Brito, and Jalen Pichardo, who scored 16, 15, and 14 points, respectively.
• Williams has strung two of his best performances of the season together in back-to-back games, totaling 34 points. Averaging 10.2 PPG on the season, the freshman is just five points away from crossing 300 points in his first season, a feat only 10 freshmen in program history have accomplished.
• Brito is one of those 10 already, as he’s averaged a team-high 12.5 PPG on the season. One of the most efficient scorers in the conference, he is fifth in the PSAC in FG%, shooting 60.9%, among players averaging 10.0 PPG or more.
• Jalen Pichardo has been an unsung hero for ESU during parts of the season, as he’s quietly been a steady force on offense while making his mark on the glass. His 8.3 RPG is eighth-best in the PSAC, but he leads the conference and is 12th in Division II with 3.6 ORPG.
• Adding another element to ESU’s offense has been Ethan Millirons and Ethan Maynard. The guards typically alternate who’s on the floor, but both are two of the best three-point shooters in the conference. Averaging over two makes per game from distance, Millirons shoots a conference-best 47.3% while Maynard has made 40.2% of his attempts.
• Nasir Griffin has been a steady force on offense, averaging 11.1 PPG. Shooting 42.3% from the field, Griffin has also been the Warriors' most frequent free-throw shooter. He’s made 92 of his 143 attempts for a 74.5 FT%.
• With the exception of bench scoring, as ESU leads the conference in that category with 44.3 PPG, many of the Warriors’ strengths are also the Golden Knights’. While ESU is second in the conference in APG (17.6) and scoring offense (88.8 PPG), fourth in RPG  (38.7), fifth in fastbreak PPG (16.0), Gannon leads in those categories.

SCOUTING GANNON

• The Golden Knights earned the top seed in the West after a 26-2 campaign. Gannon is also ranked fifth in the NABC Division II poll. Their only losses this year have been at California (Pa.) and against Lake Superior State at a neutral site.
• Gannon’s led by Pace Prosser, Lucas Sekasi, and Precious Idiaru. Prosser leads the team in PPG with 17.6, as the sophomore guard has shot 44.4% from the field, 88.7% from the free-throw line, and has dished out a team high 4.7 APG.
• Sekasi and Idiaru both average just over 11.0 PPG, with Sekasi coming off the bench to lead the Golden Knights’ second unit. Coming off the bench in all 28 games, Sekasi has been Gannon’s best three-point shooter, making 35.5% of his attempts. Idiaru has started a little under half of Gannon’s games this season, but joined their starting five immediately after the Golden Knights’ last loss, sparking a 13-game winning streak.
• Gannon has two Morgans to focus on, as brothers Lucas and Mackenzie both start and have had success scoring this season. Lucas is Gannon’s second-leading scorer with 13.4 PPG, making 53.6% of his attempts from the field. Mackenzie is right behind him with 9.8 PPG, doing a little bit of everything with 4.1 RPG and 2.0 SPG.
• Gannon has been the team to beat in the west all season, as they lead the conference in a number of different stat categories. The Golden Knights average 97.4 PPG, allow 73.5 PPG, winning their games by an average margin of 23.9 PPG, the third best in Division II.
• Gannon is one of the few teams that can match ESU’s depth, as their scoring is well distributed across its roster. The Golden Knights are second in the PSAC in bench PPG, getting 37.5 from their reserves.

SERIES HISTORY

• The two teams have met four times before in the postseason, but only once in the PSAC Tournament. ESU defeated Gannon at home 89-67 in 2018, while also picking up NCAA Tournament wins that same season and in 2014.
• After beating the Golden Knights twice in 2018, Gannon has won two of the last three meetings. ESU lost on the road 61-48 on Jan. 25, 2020, won at home 66-61 on Jan. 22, 2022, but then lost 110-96 at home on Dec. 2, 2023.
• Overall, ESU is 10-11 against Gannon, but started in a 0-7 hole after losing all seven games in the 1990s. Head Coach Jeff Wilson is 10-4 when going up against the Golden Knights.