DIV 2

Strong Second Half Pushes ESU Past D’Youville to Close 4-0 Road Trip

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Trailing 25-15 in the first half, the East Stroudsburg University men's basketball team grabbed the lead within the opening minute of the second half and did not relinquish it, defeating D'Youville 88 to 70 on Saturday afternoon at College Center.

The Warriors improve to 4-0 heading into PSAC crossover action and its home opener next week. The Saints (1-4) fall after picking up a win over nationally ranked Mercyhurst last week.

The Warriors cut the deficit at halftime to a single point at 38-37, and outscored the Saints, 51-32, in the second half. ESU closed the game on a 17-6 run over the final four minutes to gain separation late.

Notables

Lakeem McAliley recorded his first double-double of the season, pouring in a team-high 17 points (5-12 FG, 7-8 FT), while leading the game with 12 rebounds and two blocks. The junior now stands at 965 career points, just 35 points away from becoming the 34th Warrior to reach 1,000 career points. The Philadelphia native would be just the fifth player in program history to reach 1,000 career points during his junior season.
Jaelen McGlone (5-8 FG, 2-4 3PT) stuffed the stat sheet with 12 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals in 26 minutes on the floor. Tyshawn Trail (4-8 FG) and Nasir Griffin (5-9 FG) also reached double-figures with 11 points. Cam Young and Carson Howard neared double digits in scoring with nine points each, combining to shoot 12-14 from the free-throw line.
Justin Paz and Jaelen Pichardo each totaled seven points in the balanced scoring effort, with Paz tied for the game-high five assists, while Pichardo grabbed four rebounds. Shamir Hohnson added five points and two steals.
Noah Hutchins paced the Saints with a game-best 23 points, adding four rebounds, four assists and three steals, turning the ball over eight times. Trayton Trice also reached double-figures with 12 points and led DYU with seven rebounds.