EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. – The men’s basketball team hung around with No. 19 East Stroudsburg during a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) game Wednesday evening, but the stout Warriors squad was able to pull away from Huskies in the second half en route to a 91-73 win.
The Huskies (0-12, 0-8 PSAC) were able to keep it close with the Warriors (13-1, 7-1 PSAC) thanks to a strong offensive performance by its frontcourt with Louie Wild (Philadelphia, PA/Roman Catholic) and Desmond Freeman (Greensboro, N.C./Southeast Guilford) combining to score 50 of the team’s 73 points. However, East Stroudsburg had four players in double figures and used its depth, which included playing nine players at least 16 minutes, along with some inside scoring to pull away from the Huskies for the win.
Wild finished the game with a team-high 22 points while Freeman racked up 18 points. Ash Kemble (Myerstown, Pa./Fork Union Military Academy) had nine points and Cam Villarouel (Cumming, GA/State College (PA)) scored eight. Jake Nelson (West Chester, Pa./West Chester Rustin) led the team with seven rebounds to go along with seven points.
For East Stroudsburg, Lakeem McAliley led the team in scoring with 22 points. Carlos Pepin had a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Justin Paz had 15 points and three steals. Jaelen McGlone was the fourth player in double figures with 10 points and four rebounds.
The Warriors wasted no time getting out to a lead as they were able to score on their first three possessions to go up 6-0. That lead change would be the only one of the game as ESU was able to cling to that advantage for the remaining 40 minutes, but Bloomsburg did what it could to stay within striking distance throughout.
Up by four points with 13:23 remaining in the first half, East Stroudsburg went on a quick 8-0 the scoring run to grab its first double-digit lead of the game and make the score 24-12 with just over 10 minutes to play. Bloomsburg, however, responded with an 8-1 scoring run of its own to cut the deficit down to five. East Stroudsburg would ultimately go up by nine points and led 47-38 at the break.
In the second half, Wild and Freeman combined to score Bloomsburg’s first seven points that resulted in a 7-2 scoring run to start the frame. That run would make the score 50-45, but the five-point margin would be as close as Bloomsburg would get to knot the game up. ESU scored the next 11 points to go back up by double-digits and following another quick scoring burst by Bloomsburg that cut the deficit down to six, the Warriors again jumped back up by double-digits and went on to win by 18 points.
A majority of ESU’s scoring came from the paint, which is where the Warriors scored 48 of their 91 points. Additionally, East Stroudsburg scored 23 points off turnovers and knocked down seven three-point field goals.
As a team, East Stroudsburg shot the ball 51.6% (32-62) from the floor while Bloomsburg was 41.9% (26-62) from the court.
Up next for Bloomsburg is Shepherd (7-7. 4-4 PSAC). The Huskies will host the Rams on Saturday at 3:00 PM.