East Stroudsburg University answered a 14-0 run by Kutztown to start the second half with a 26-4 stretch, as the Warriors pulled away from the Golden Bears for an 86-75 win in PSAC East men’s basketball on Saturday afternoon at Koehler Fieldhouse.
Redshirt junior guard Quindell Brice scored all 13 of his points in the first half, pacing ESU to a 44-33 halftime lead, and was one of six double-figure scorers for the Warriors (13-3, 9-3), who won their seventh straight game and pulled within a game of the PSAC East just past the midpoint of the conference schedule.
Anthony Lee scored 28 points to lead Kutztown (12-4, 9-3) in a match-up of the top two scoring teams in the PSAC. ESU entered as the PSAC leader (89.9 ppg) with KU second (85.5 ppg).
There were just 25 total points scored in the first 10 minutes, with ESU holding a 13-12 lead, before the Warriors posted 31 points over the next 10 minutes and closed the first half on a 19-9 run.
Kutztown answered with a 14-0 stretch to start the second half as Ryan Connolloy (14 second-half points) scored eight straight and Lee had a pair of buckets to put the Golden Bears ahead, 47-44, at the 16:28 mark.
After both teams traded buckets, ESU embarked on a 26-4 run over the next eight minutes. The Warriors shot 6-for-11 from the field and 13-for-15 at the foul line during the spurt, while Kutztown was just 2-for-11 with six turnovers.
The Warriors scored 10 points in a 55-second span to go ahead 56-49 with 13:21 left. A three-point play by senior guard Jamal Nwaniemeka made it 63-51, and the Warriors extended their lead to 19 (72-53) just under the eight-minute mark.
Kutztown cut a 20-point margin (76-56) to 12 (78-66) with 4:11 left, but ESU responded with five straight points by redshirt senior guard Will Brown to stay in front.
Senior forward Wes Cherry had a season-high 11 points and eight rebounds as one of six Warriors in double-figures. Junior forward Rasheed Moore had 11 points and eight rebounds, Nwaniemeka had 11 points, four rebounds and four assists, freshman guard Nick Giordano had 11 points in 4-for-4 shooting (2-for-2 from 3) and Brown had 10 points.
Freshman guard Najee Walls, the PSAC leader in assists (6.1), added eight points and five assists.
ESU held Kutztown to 37.1 percent (23-for-62) from the field and 6-for-18 from the three-point line. Connolly had all 14 of his points in the second half and Anthony Selby had 11 points and six rebounds. Josh Johnson, averaging 14.7 points and 8.9 rebounds entering the game, had four points and five rebounds in the first half before leaving due to injury and did not return.
Brown played in his 100th career game at ESU and finished the afternoon with 198 career three-pointers (3rd at ESU) and 954 career points.
Nwaniemeka has 985 collegiate points (974 at ESU), including 11 as a freshman at Rider in 2012-13, as he and Brown close in on the 1,000-point mark. Moore scored his 1,000th point last week in an 87-60 win at West Chester.
ESU won its ninth straight and 11th in 12 meetings against Kutztown. Saturday’s game was just the third of the nine straight wins to be decided by more than 10 points.
ESU travels to Lock Haven (10-7, 6-7) on Wednesday after LHU fell at Bloomsburg, 78-49, on Saturday afternoon.
Junior guard Rachel Falkowski had a putback at the buzzer, capping a frantic final minute and giving East Stroudsburg University a 66-65 win over Kutztown in PSAC East women’s basketball on Saturday afternoon at Koehler Fieldhouse.
Falkowski tied her career-high with 13 points and followed a missed shot in the lane by senior guard Tyeca Reviere to give the Warriors (8-8, 6-6) their seventh win in eight games and a key PSAC East victory over the Golden Bears (7-9, 4-8).
The putback was the fourth and final lead change in the last 40 seconds and helped ESU recover from a six-point deficit (61-55) with 2:40 remaining as the Warriors outscored Kutztown 11-4 down the stretch.
Reviere completed a 7-0 run with two free throws that gave ESU a 62-61 edge with 1:01 remaining. Then Kutztown’s Natalya Lee (19 points, nine rebounds) scored with 40 seconds remaining, before ESU sophomore guard Imani Brown (7 points) answered with a driving layup that put ESU in front, 64-63, with 24.2 seconds left.
At the other end, Lee was fouled with 5.5 seconds remaining and made both to give KU a 65-64 advantage to set up the finish. ESU called timeout, followed by a timeout by Kutztown, before Reviere drove and Falkowski trailed the play for the game-winner.
Falkowski, sophomore forward Rebecca Rutkowski (13 points, 4 blocks), junior forward Allison Howard (11 points, 9 rebounds) and Reviere (11 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists) combined for 48 of ESU’s 66 points in the contest. Brown added her 7 points and 6 rebounds, senior guard Melissa Poderis had 5 points, 4 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 blocks and senior center Michelle Boggs had 5 points and 4 blocks.
Lee led Kutztown with 19 points, Kelsey Watson had 18 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks and Jenna Altomare had 11 points and 6 rebounds. Mariah Maciejewski added 8 points and 10 rebounds.
ESU held Kutztown to 35.2 percent (19-for-54) shooting and had a season-high 11 blocked shots, after leading the PSAC in blocks (4.7) and ranking second in field goal defense (37.5) entering the weekend.
Neither team led by more than six points the entire contest, with ESU holding a 15-10 advantage after the first quarter and 31-29 at the break.
Kutztown outscored ESU 19-15 in the third quarter, closing on a 7-0 run, to lead 48-46 entering the final 10 minutes.
KU stretched its lead to six points on three occasions, on a bucket by Maciejewski with 6:20 left (54-48), a three-pointer by Altomare with 4:40 left (58-52) and another three by Lee with 2:40 remaining (61-55).
Brown had answered Altomare’s previous three with one of her own, then scored to get the Warriors within 61-57 with 2:20 left to start the rally.
The Warriors grabbed two offensive rebounds on their next trip and Reviere scored, was fouled and completed the three-point play to make it 61-59 with 1:14 left. Lee turned it over for Kutztown, with Reviere collecting the steal, and sank both free throws to put the Warriors in front, 62-61, with 1:01 left for their first lead in the fourth quarter.
ESU won at the buzzer at Koehler Fieldhouse for the second time in 13 days, as Reviere hit a three-pointer for a 74-73 win over then-No. 22-ranked and defending NCAA DII champion California (Pa.) on January 3.
The Warriors were 1-7 following a 74-67 loss to Edinboro on December 4, but have rattled off seven wins in the last eight games starting with a 59-50 victory vs. Mercyhurst on December 5.
ESU won 70-61 at Holy Family on December 14 and topped Cheyney 96-60 on December 19 entering the semester break, which was followed by the upset of California.
The Warriors won 78-71 (OT) at Slippery Rock on January 6 for their first five-game winning streak since early in the 2008-09 season. They fell 84-67 at West Chester last Saturday before a 79-65 win vs. Mansfield on Wednesday.
ESU travels to Lock Haven (7-10, 4-9) on Wednesday after LHU fell to Bloomsburg, 66-55, on Saturday.
GAME NOTES
* The two schools had split the last 8 meetings since 2012-13 (ESU 499 points, Kutztown 496)
* 3 of the previous 7 games had gone to overtime
* Watson (Kutztown) entered the game ranked 3rd in the PSAC in scoring (17.3 ppg) and 9th in rebounding (8.9)
* Rutkowski (ESU) entered the game as the PSAC leader in blocks (1.9) and had 4 blocked shots
Game recap courtesy of East Stroudsburg University Athletics.