Box Score
EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa.- Â The two top teams in the PSAC East warmed up for the tournament with a nail biter, No.3 East Stroudsburg (25-1, 15-1 PSAC East) and second seeded West Chester put on a show to end the regular season at Koehler Field House, and when the dust settled the Warriors survived with a 74-71 win.
The Golden Rams (18-8, 11-5 PSAC East) are the second seed and have a bye in the first round of PSAC Tournament. West Chester will host a second round game Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. inside Hollinger Field House, against the winner of the sixth seed Kutztown who play at the third seed Bloomsburg on Saturday afternoon. The top seeded Warriors host the victor of the Millersville at Lock Haven contest. Lock Haven handed East Stroudsburg its only defeat of the season.
The Golden Rams were led by
Shannon Givens, who scored 17 of his team high 22 points in the second half
, secured eight rebounds and dished out eight assists,
Ben Mingledough added 15 off the bench, and
Troy Hockaday, who had 14 before fouling out.
West Chester held a 69-68 lead when Zechariah Runkle hit an off balance shot with one second remaining on the shot clock to give the Warriors the lead with 2:19 to play, Runkle then made it a three-point advantage with a layup with 1:16 on the clock. Givens made it a one point game at 72-71 with 35 seconds to play. Jamal Nwaniemeka hit two free throws, to make it 74-71, and Givens had two three point attempts rattle out in the final 17 seconds that would have tied the game.
Hockaday led the way with 11 points, and Mingledough added eight off the bench, but the Golden Rams committed 17 turnovers, and trailed 46-37 at the break. The Warriors, who hit nine first half threes, were led by Will Brown who scored 20 points including 6-12 from down town in the first 20 minutes.
After falling behind 56-44 five minutes into the second half, West Chester went on a 12-1 run to make it a one-point game at 57-56. After Brown hit his seventh triple, Mingledough responded with the Golden Rams only three of the contest.
West Chester took its first lead of the game on a
Matt Wiseley layup with 7:23 to play and Givens pushed the lead to three, before Hockaday fouled out with 4:28 left and the Golden Rams leading 67-64. Brown, who finished with a game high 25, was injured with 4:03 remaining and did not return.
The Warriors regained the lead at 68-67, but Mingledough scored from Givens to put West Chester back in front, before Runkle hit the shot that put the Warriors up for good.
West Chester held a 51-33 edge on the glass with Wiseley grabbing 14 boards, but shot only 1-7 from beyond the arc, and 16-25 (64%) from the free-throw line. After 17 turnovers in the first-half, West Chester only turned the ball over five times in the second half.
East Stroudsburg hit 12-36 from distance in the game, but only 3-12 in the second half, making only 7-22 from the field in the final 20 minutes.
The Golden Rams are off until Tuesday night, when they host the winner of Saturdays' Kutztown at Bloomsburg game at 7:30 p.m. inside Hollinger Field House in the second round of the PSAC Tournament.
