Notes from ESU: Shyla Sanford lifts Warriors past Lock Haven

COURTESY OF ESU ATHLETICS
·6 min read

Editor's Note: Notes from ESU provides a recap of sports events and is compiled of reports provided by East Stroudsburg University. Read more about ESU Athletics online at esuwarriors.com.

No. 25 Warriors come up short against Lock Haven

Despite an admirable comeback, East Stroudsburg University's Men's Basketball team failed to hold off Lock Haven on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023 at Koehler Field House.
Despite an admirable comeback, East Stroudsburg University's Men's Basketball team failed to hold off Lock Haven on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023 at Koehler Field House.

Trailing by 20 points with 12:45 remaining, the No. 25 East Stroudsburg University men's basketball team whittled the deficit to as low as four points late, but ultimately fell to Lock Haven, 83-73, on Thursday inside Koehler Fieldhouse.

With the loss, the Warriors (15-4, 9-4 PSAC) drop to a tie for second place with the Bald Eagles (13-5, 9-4) in the PSAC Standings. Shippensburg (12-7, 10-3 PSAC) remains in first-place after defeating Shepherd on Wednesday night.

Lakeem McAliley paced the Warriors with 17 points and picked up three rebounds and three steals to lead ESU. Justin Paz totaled 16 points and six assists, while David Duda Jr. also reached double-figures with 11 points. Carlos Pepin led ESU in rebounds with seven boards.

Notables

  • Pacing Lock Haven was Jayy Davis, who registered a game-high 22 points, with 17 occurring in the first half. Dymir Montague posted 16 points, while James Price added 11 points.

  • The loss for ESU snaps a seven-game winning streak against LHU and a 10-game winning streak at Koehler Fieldhouse against the Bald Eagles. The last time Lock Haven defeated ESU in the Poconos was Dec. 18, 2012. The Warriors still lead the all-time series by a 44-28 mark.

  • The Warriors were held to a season-worst 35.3 shooting percentage from the floor. ESU struggled in the first half, making 9-of-31 attempts from the field, and bounced back to shoot 40.54 percent during the final 20 minutes.

How it happened

It was a defensive struggle in the first half. With ESU holding a 9-7 edge as, Lock Haven used a 10-0 scoring spree to grab a 19-12 scoreboard lead. The Warriors cut the deficit back to single digits following six consecutive points from Duda Jr. on a 3-pointer along with a hoop and harm three-point play.

The Bald Eagles countered with a game-altering 20-6 sprint, grabbing an 18-point lead at 39-21. During the final 1:49, ESU closed the half strong with seven of the final nine points of the contest, as LHU led 41-28 at the break.

After ESU sliced the LHU advantage to 11, the Bald Eagles took control again with a 15-6 spring, taking a game-high 20-pt lead with 12:45 left. The Warriors scored the next nine points in just over two minutes of clock, to bring the LHU edge back to 11 points at 59-48 with 10:10 to go.

The relentless Warriors - who matched a Jeff Wilson-era era record with a 19-point comeback win on Monday night — brought the contest back to four points at 68-64 following a 14-7 spree, but the ball didn't bounce the Warriors' way the final 2:23 of clock, with Lock Haven escaping Koehler Fieldhouse with an 83-73 win.

Women's Basketball outlasts Lock Haven behind Sanford's career night

ESU Women's Basketball No. 12 Shyla Sanford nailed 20 points and 10 rebounds, contributing to the Warriors' win over Lock Haven Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023.
ESU Women's Basketball No. 12 Shyla Sanford nailed 20 points and 10 rebounds, contributing to the Warriors' win over Lock Haven Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023.

Scoring the Warriors' final 11 points and 13 total in the fourth quarter, Shyla Sanford dominated down the stretch as the graduate student registered her first career double-double that included career highs of 20 points and 10 rebounds to lift the East Stroudsburg University women's basketball team past Lock Haven, 42-37, on Thursday night inside Koehler Fieldhouse.

The Warriors collected their second straight win to move their record to 11-8 on the season and 7-6 in the PSAC, while the Bald Eagles lost their fifth straight game to drop to 7-11 overall and 5-8 in the conference.

Through two games this week, Sanford is averaging 18.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 2.5 steals and 0.5 blocks across 40 minutes per contest. The Latham, N.Y. native is shooting an impressive 75% (15-of-20) from the field and 83.3% (5-of-6) at the free throw line.

Notables

  • Sanford shot 8-of-10 overall, 1-of-3 from three point territory and 3-of-4 at the free throw line while adding a trio of steals

  • Sophomore Cassidy Saylor was in double figures with 10 points, while adding five rebounds and an assist

  • In an off night shooting, Ryan Weise (0-of-12 FG) finished with two points, eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal

  • Carley Adams contributed a little bit of everything as the junior added five points, four rebounds and a career-high four steals

  • Registering their second lowest scoring output of the season, ESU went 16-of-50 (32.0%) from the field and 1-of-8 (33.3%) from long distance

  • After being held to their lowest point total of the year, the Bald Eagles finished 14-of-51 (27.5.5%) overall and 2-of-13 (15.4%) from beyond the arc

  • Neither team shot their free throws well as the Warriors went 9-of-14 (64.3%) while Lock Haven was 7-of-12 (58.35)

  • The Bald Eagles' leading scorer was Brooke Lawyer with nine points to go along with two rebounds and two steals, while Alana Robinson finished with seven points, seven boards, three steals and a pair of blocks

  • Turnovers were nearly dead even as ESU committed 16 compared to 15 for Lock Haven

  • The Warriors held advantages in rebounds (40-34) and points in the paint (26-16)

  • ESU moved into a tie with Kutztown, who the Warriors defeated on Monday, for the No. 3 seed in the PSAC East

  • The Warriors continue to dominate the Bald Eagles in the all-time series, holding a 42-22 record, which includes winning 18 of the last 25 meetings

How it happened

Through the first five minutes of the game, Lock Haven grabbed a 7-0 lead until Carley Adams converted a driving layup at the 3:57 mark to get the Warriors on the board. The teams would go back and forth over the final three minutes of the first quarter as the Bald Eagles held a 11-9 advantage.

The Warriors got going offensively to begin the second quarter, scoring six of the first seven points to pull ahead for 14-12. Lock Haven would tie the score on a pair of occasions (14-14, 16-16) over the last six minutes of the first half as the Warriors ultimately took a 21-18 advantage into the break.

After ESU scored the first basket of the second half, the Bald Eagles went on a 12-4 run from the 6:31 mark through the end of the quarter, taking a 30-27 edge into the last 10 minutes.

Neither team would fine their offensive rhythm in during the first five minutes of the fourth quarter as ESU outscored Lock Haven, 4-2, to trim their deficit to 32-31. Out of the media break, it was back and forth as the Warriors cut it to one point at 34-33 and 36-35, until Sanford made layup to tie the game at 37-37 with 2:43 remaining. It was all Sanford down the stretch as the graduate student tallied the final five points of the game to secure the 42-27 win for ESU.

This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: ESU basketball engages in tight competition against Lock Haven