EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. -- Sophomore guard Jamal Nwaniemeka scored 21 points, junior guard Whis Grant scored 16 and junior guard Matt Tobin had 11 points and a career-high 14 assists, leading No. 2 East Stroudsburg to a 78-58 win against Millersville and its fifth consecutive berth in the PSAC men's basketball semifinals on Tuesday night at Koehler Fieldhouse.
ESU is the third PSAC school to advance to five consecutive semifinals in the past 30 years, joining California (six in a row, 1992-97) and Bloomsburg (five, 1998-02).
The backcourt handled the scoring load, with Nwaniemeka, Grant, Tobin and redshirt junior guard Will Brown (nine points) combining for 57 of ESU's 78 points.
Up front, junior forward Lamont Tillery (nine points, 10 rebounds), senior forward Zechariah Runkle (five points, nine rebounds) and freshman forward Rasheed Moore (five points, five rebounds) had 19 points and 24 boards, helping the Warriors to a 42-30 advantage on the glass.
Tobin's 14 assists are a career-high and the most in the PSAC this year, surpassing his 13 assists in an 81-68 win at Pitt-Johnstown on January 8. He had his third double-double of the year and added four steals to his PSAC-leading total.
Tillery was one point short of his first career double-double, setting a career-high with 10 boards.
Carl Wallace and Tyree Smith both scored 16 points and Kelvin Parker had 10 points and nine rebounds to lead Millersville.
No. 1 Metro State 83, Colorado Mesa 74
DENVER -- Top-ranked Metro State took one step closer to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Shootout title with 83-74 win against Colorado Mesa University in the quarterfinals at Auraria Event Center. The Roadrunners continued their winning streak in the post-season with number 23, the longest active winning streak in Division II. They are 26-1 overall and 23-0 RMAC. CMU ends the season 13-14 overall and 11-12 in the RMAC.
Junior forward/center Nicholas Kay had 21 total points earning him a spot in the record books for 1,000-point career. Kay was 8-for-12, shooting 66.7 percent from the floor. Kay also led the team with eight rebounds and was 5-for-6 from the free-throw line.
Junior guard Mitch McCarron led all scorers with 22 total points, shooting 8 of 11 from the floor, 2 of 4 from 3-point range and hit four of his six free throws. McCarron also had eight rebounds and three assists. Senior guard Brandon Jefferson had 15 points, hitting 8-for-8 from the line. Senior guard Jamal McClerkin had eight points, two rebounds, and two assists.
Although CMU tied the game up at 55 with 8:38 left in the game, Metro maintained the lead throughout the second half.
Stephan led CMU with 17 points and eight rebounds, Landon Vermeer had 13 points, and Mike Melillo had 12.
