PSAC champion Warriors 90, West Chester 85 - Mar 4, 2012
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PSAC champion Warriors 90, West Chester 85
Junior forward Terrance King had 26 points and 9 rebounds to earn Tournament MVP honors as East Stroudsburg University won its second PSAC championship in school history with a 90-85 win over West Chester on Saturday night at Hollinger Field House. The Warriors, who trailed at halftime in each of their three PSAC Tournament games, are the first No. 4 seed to win the PSAC title since 1991 thanks in large part to King, who had 67 points and 34 rebounds over the three games. ESU won 99-91 (OT) at Kutztown in the PSAC quarterfinals behind a career-high 32 points from King, including a three-point play to tie the game at the end of regulation, and beat Mercyhurst 66-58 in the semifinals on Friday night. The Warriors' previous PSAC title came in 1990 with ESU head coach Jeff Wilson on the bench as the top assistant coach under Sal Mentesana. The Warriors advance to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in school history with the conference's automatic bid, joining their 1990 and 2010 squads. Junior forward Duane Johnson added 19 points and four steals, senior guard Russell Graham III had 16 points and senior forward Eric Bryan had 10 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double in his 111th career game for the Warriors. ESU went on an 8-0 run after West Chester tied the game at 75-all with 4:24 remaining to seize control. Bryan started the run with a jumper after an offensive rebound, freshman guard Whis Grant (eight points) had a three-point play, Graham hit the first of two free throws and King dunked after gathering the rebound on the second to put the Warriors up 83-75 with 1:52 remaining. ESU trailed 44-39 at halftime after falling behind by as many as 10 points in the first 20 minutes. The Warriors rattled off a big 8-0 run to take a 59-56 lead with 12:58 left, getting consecutive three-point plays from freshman guard Matt Tobin and Johnson and two free throws by junior guard Blair Ramsey, and never trailed the rest of the way. A huge baseline drive and dunk by Johnson, who scored 12 of his 19 in the second half, made it 70-65 with 8:31 remaining. It was 74-67 after King scored and Johnson hit two free throws, but West Chester came back with a 7-1 surge to tie it at 75- all before the Warriors' championship finish. Courtesy of ESU Warriors
PSAC Tournament Final: East Stroudsburg - West Chester 90-85 PSAC Tournament Semifinals: East Stroudsburg - Mercyhurst 66-58 West Chester - IUP 54-51
All-Tournament MVP: Terrance King (6'6''-F) of East Stroudsburg Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Luis Leao (6'5''-F-89) of Mercyhurst
All-PSAC East Division Awards 2011-12
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Jordan
Breeden
Brennan
Edwards
Johnson
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Player of the Year:Dontahe Jordan (6'4''-G/F) of Bloomsburg Defensive Player of the Year:Larry Webster (6'7''-C) of Bloomsburg Freshman of the Year:Joe Bell (6'6''-F) of Mansfield, PA Coach of the Year:John Sanow of Bloomsburg
Player of the Year:Ashton Smith (6'2''-G) of Indiana, PA Defensive Player of the Year:Travon Vann (6'4''-G) of California, PA Freshman of the Year:Adam Blazek (6'0''-G) of Gannon Coach of the Year:Joe Lombardi of Indiana, PA
Wilson
PSAC champion Warriors 90, West Chester 85
