EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. -- Junior guard Matt Tobin scored all 15 of his points in the second half and added eight assists, leading No. 6 East Stroudsburg to its 20th consecutive win, a 75-67 victory against Kutztown on Saturday afternoon at Koehler Fieldhouse.
ESU (20-0, 10-0) extended Division II’s longest active winning streak and is the first DII team to 20 wins this season. The Warriors entered the weekend as one of two undefeated teams remaining in DII, along with Tarleton State at 17-0.
Freshman forward Rasheed Moore had 15 points and seven rebounds and junior guard Will Brown added 14 points off the bench for ESU.
Tracy Peal had 29 points and 11 rebounds to lead four players in double figures for Kutztown (6-13, 4-5), which pulled within 59-55 with 7 minutes left, but the Warriors stayed in front.
ESU extended the longest winning streak in school history, and also set a mark with its 16th consecutive win against a PSAC school.
The Warriors secured their fourth 20-win season in five years, and the ninth in program history. Head coach Jeff Wilson has been part of six of the nine 20-win campaigns, two as an assistant coach under Sal Mentesana (1990, '92) and the past four as head coach (2010, '12, '13, '14).
No. 1 West Liberty 103, Charleston (W. Va.)
WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. -- The No. 1-ranked West Liberty University men’s basketball team bounced back from its first loss of the season in dominating fashion Saturday afternoon, blasting out to a 28-point first-half lead en route to a 103-71 rout of Charleston (W. Va.) before another capacity crowd at the ASRC.
Coach Jim Crutchfield’s Hilltoppers (17-1, 13-1) led wire-to-wire in the matchup of the Mountain East Conference’s top two teams. WLU jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first two minutes and never took its foot off the gas against a stunned squad of Golden Eagles (13-5, 10-4).
Cedric Harris led the way with 25 points and 6 assists -- both game-highs -- while CJ Hester posted his 6th double-double of the season and 30th of his career with 14 points and a season-high 16 rebounds. Keene Cockburn made his presence felt with 15 points, 6 rebounds, 4 blocks and a pair of steals while Devin Hoehn (17 points), Zak Kirkbride (12 points) and Mike Lamberti (11 points) all hit double-figures in their first career starts.
Tino DiTrapano went 10-for-10 from the foul line and finished with 16 points to pace four double-figure scorers for Charleston.
No. 2 Florida Southern 95, Nova Southeastern 73
LAKELAND, Fla. -- Second-ranked Florida Southern began a new winning streak on Saturday evening as the Moccasins shot 58 percent from the field en route to posting a 95-73 victory against Nova Southeastern in Sunshine State Conference action at Jenkins Field House.
Saturday's win, which came three days after the Mocs had its 18-game winning streak snapped in overtime at Rollins, improved FSC to 19-1 overall and 8-1 in the SSC and extended its home court win streak to 16 consecutive games dating to last season. The Mocs haven't lost at home since falling 83-78 to Florida Tech in its third-to-last regular season game last year. Since that loss to the Panthers, the Mocs won its final four home games last season and are 12-0 at home this season.
Junior guard Kevin Capers and senior guard Frank Adams were two of the biggest catalysts for the Mocs on the night as they combined to go 15-for-21 from the field and combined to score 44 of their teams 95 points. Capers finished the night with 23 points and a career-high tying 10 assists for his second double-double of the season, while Adams tallied a season-high 21 points and had seven rebounds against the Sharks.
No. 3 Metro State 62, Black Hills State 57
DENVER -- Brandon Jefferson scored five consecutive points to break a 50-50 tie as No. 3 Metro State hung on for a 62-57 win against Black Hills State on Saturday night at the Auraria Event Center. The Roadrunners improved to 18-1 overall and 15-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with their 15th consecutive win, while BHSU fell to 8-11 and 6-9 in the RMAC.
Jefferson finished with 17 points, matching teammate Nicholas Kay for a team-high in scoring. Jefferson also had five assists and five rebounds. Kay shot 7 of 11 from the floor and had a team-high nine rebounds. Harrison Goodrick added 10 points off the bench, hitting 3 of 5 from the floor and 4 of 4 at the line. Mitch McCarron scored eight.
Metro State shot just 40.7 percent in the game, but a strong defensive effort held the Yellow Jackets to just 33.9 percent.
After a defensive first half on both sides, Metro State held a halftime lead of 31-22 after shooting 38.7 percent, while holding the Yellow Jackets to 24.1 percent. Goodrick scored all 10 of his points in the first half.
The Yellow Jackets slowly narrowed the gap until they tied the game 50-50 with 5:22 remaining in the game, outscoring the Roadrunners 9-2 in a 4:37 span.
Jefferson hit a tough layup with 2:20 left to break the tie and end a four-minute scoring drought, and then buried a 3-pointer in the right corner for a 55-50 lead at the two-minute mark.
Jefferson made all four of his free throw attempts in the final minute to seal the win.
Tommy Earl, who played at Metro State as a freshman and sophomore, led BHSU with 17 points.
No. 4 Tarleton State 84, Texas A&M-Commerce 71
STEPHENVILLE, Texas -- For the first time since becoming a senior college back in 1961, Tarleton State has registered a school-record 18 consecutive wins after downing the Texas A&M-Commerce Lions 84-71 in Lone Star Conference action before a sellout crowd on Saturday night at Wisdom Gym.
The Texans, who are ranked No. 4 in the latest NABC poll, breaks the previous winning streak of 17 games that was originally set in 1990-91 and then recorded again in 2011-12. Tarleton also tied the school's third longest home winning streak in the process, stretching that mark to 20 consecutive wins inside Wisdom Gym.
Chuck Guy scored a game-high 16 points, while Davene Carter poured in 14 points and pulled down a game-high eight rebounds. Tashawn Mabry scored 14 points off the bench with a perfect 6-for-6 effort from the field that included going 2-for-2 from three-point land.
No. 5 Drury 88, Truman State 78
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. -- Cameron Adams scored a career-high 28 points and No. 5 Drury pulled away late for an 88-78 Great Lakes Valley Conference victory at Truman State to hand the Bulldogs their first home loss of the season on Saturday at Pershing Arena.
Drury moved to 18-1 overall and 10-1 in the GLVC, opening up a two-game lead in the West on the Bulldogs (15-4, 8-3).
Kameron Bundy finished with 18 points and Ian Carter had 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for the Panthers, who outrebounded the Bulldogs 39-29.
Seth Jackson had 25 points to lead four Truman State players in double figures, but 6-foot-9 senior standout Mike Carlson was not one of them. Carlson finished with nine points -- nearly 13 below his season average -- on 3-for-15 shooting after going for a school-record 48 points in Thursday's 109-105 overtime win. Carlson had just two points after halftime.
No. 23 Cal Poly Pomona 88, No. 7 Cal State San Bernardino
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. -- In front of a sellout crowd in San Bernardino, Cal Poly Pomona stole the show.
In the all-time series between CPP and Cal State San Bernardino, Saturday's game marked the first meeting in which both teams were nationally-ranked. History was made in the final score, a 88-68 win for the Broncos that marked CPP's largest margin of victory against the Coyotes in school history.
The result hands San Bernardino its first conference loss of the season while snapping the Coyotes' 16-game winning streak. The win also moves the Broncos into a first-place tie with San Bernardino as the teams hold identical 13-1 records in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA).
The Broncos' winning streak now stands at 13 games, the second longest stretch of victories in program history.
Sophomore Jordan Faison led the scoring for CPP Saturday, collecting a career-high 26 points on 12-for-16 shooting. Also turning in a career performance was DeRonn Scott, who dished 11 assists to become the first Bronco to reach that total since 2006.
The Broncos outrebounded the Coyotes, 43-24, including a career-best 11 boards from Daniel Rodriguez. Jordan Finn and Quentin Taylor joined Faison and Scott in double figures with 11 points apiece.
No. 8 Lincoln Memorial 95, Coker 81
HARROGATE, Tenn. -- All five Lincoln Memorial starters finished in double figures, headlined by senior forward Vincent Bailey's 25-point, 10-rebound performance, as the eighth-ranked Railsplitters raced past the Coker Cobras 95-81 in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action on Saturday at Tex Turner Arena.
Lincoln Memorial (17-1, 13-1 SAC) won its 13th consecutive game while finishing off the regular-season sweep of the Cobras (10-8, 7-7 SAC), who fell for only the third time in the past seven games. The Railsplitters bested Coker 78-67 in Hartsville, South Carolina on December 7.
LMU forward Vincent Bailey matched a game-high mark with 25 points, 10 of which fell in the first 3:48 of action and helped the Railsplitters mount an early 15-8 lead. Bailey added 10 rebounds to notch his eighth double-double of the season and third in the past four games. He native went 11-for-19 from the field.
The rest of LMU's starting five joined Bailey with double-digit points in the contest. Tim Pierce pitched in a career-high 17 points, and 14 of those points were scored in the first half which saw LMU finish with a 52-42 advantage. Chance Jones and Lorenza Ross contributed 16 and 14 points respectively, while Keenan Peterson collected 13 points and 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the year. Peterson's game-high 11 boards catapulted LMU to a 54-31 margin on the glass.
Georgia Regents Augusta 97, No. 9 South Carolina Aiken 84
AIKEN, S.C. -- The Jaguars hit 90 points for the third consecutive game and the sixth time this season to give Peach-Belt leading USC Aiken its first home loss of the year with a 97-84 victory Saturday night in the Convocation Center.
GRU Augusta (17-3, 10-1) upset the Pacers (18-3, 10-1) with the Sherrill Brothers taking over for the Jaguars. Freshman Keshun Sherrill led the team with a career-high 21 points (9 of 12 free throws), three rebounds and an assist, while Senior KJ Sherrill scored 20 for his seventh consecutive double-figure night (14 overall) and added four boards and three assists.
No. 10 Indianapolis 82, No. 18 Wisconsin-Parkside 60
INDIANAPOLIS -- Indianapolis (17-2, 10-1 GLVC) made a statement on Saturday afternoon, taking down 18th-ranked and GLVC East-leading Wisconsin-Parkside 82-60 at Nicoson Hall. Junior Joe Lawson had a monster game for the Greyhounds, amassing 32 points, 12 rebounds and two steals.
Facing one of the conference's top big men in Zygimantas Riauka, Lawson reached his career-high point total on 12-of-26 shooting. His 32 points represent the second-highest total by a Greyhound this season, while his 26 field goal attempts were the most by a Hound in three years.
Sophomore Jordan Loyd was the only other Greyhound in double figures. He chipped in a season-best 18 points while hitting all eight of his foul shots.
Looking beyond the offensive success, the Hounds came up with a solid defensive effort. UIndy held the Rangers (17-3, 10-1) to just 38 percent from the floor -- the lowest by a Greyhound conference opponent this season. Parkside managed just 28 points in the second half, including a 1-for-11 performance from behind the arc.
The loss marked the Rangers' first of the conference season, snapping their 10-game win streak in GLVC play. With its second win versus a ranked team this week, UIndy is now just one game out of first place in the East Division standings.
