West Chester Falls To East Stroudsburg In PSAC Championship Game, 92-80

Box Score

EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. – For the second time in three years, West Chester and East Stroudsburg met in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Championship Game. Unfortunately for the Golden Rams, the result was the same as the Warriors downed West Chester, 92-80, in Sunday's title game.
 
West Chester (20-9) must await the NCAA Division II Men's Basketballl Selection Show to see if its season will continue next weekend in the national tournament. Second-ranked East Stroudsburg (28-1) earns the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, after capturing the school's third PSAC title.
 
Troy Hockaday scored a team-high 24 points and grabbed six rebounds while R.J. Griffin added 14 points off the bench and eight boards. Ben Mingledough scored 12 points for the Golden Rams, and Cory Blake added 10. Shannon Givens scored nine points and dished out seven assists.
 
Jamal Nwaniemeka led all scorers with 27 points and was named the tournament's most valuable player. Whis Grant and Rasheed Moore each scored 19. The trio scored 65 of the Warriors' 92 points.
 
West Chester turned the ball over 26 times while East Stroudsburg went 38-for-43 from the foul line.
 
Despite all of that, the Golden Rams trailed by just three (38-35) at halftime and scored the first four points of the second half to take a 39-38 lead. However, East Stroudsburg responded with a 22-7 run that left the hosts well in control, and the Warriors never looked back.
 
West Chester went on a 14-8 run over the final five minutes of the first half to get within striking distance. ESU did not score over the final 3:45 of the first half.