East Stroudsburg to Host PSAC Men's Basketball Tournament Semifinals and Championship
PSAC Men's Basketball Weekly Release - Mar. 4 (pdf)
Host East Stroudsburg's Championship Page
East Stroudsburg senior Andy Heimbach submits blogs from the host site
For the first time ever, East Stroudsburg will serve as the host for the PSAC men's basketball tournament semifinals and championship. The Warriors, the co-champions and No. 2 seed out of the PSAC East, will take on West No. 1 seed IUP while Kutztown will take on Clarion in the semifinals.
PSAC Tournament Quick Hits
- East Stroudsburg is making just its fourth appearance in the semifinals in school history, and its first since 1992.The Warriors missed the tournament from 1999-2005 and were knocked out in the quarterfinals from 2006-08 before also missing the tournament last year.
- Clarion is making its 12th PSAC Tournament appearance in the last 14 years but its first semifinal appearance since 2003.
- Kutztown is the only team in the semifinal field that also made it to the semifinals last year
- This is Kutztown’s eighth straight appearance in the PSAC Tournament, the longest current active streak in the conference, and its second straight in the semifinals, also the longest current streak
- IUP is making its first semifinal appearance since 2004, when the Crimson Hawks last won the tournament. Overall, this is IUP’s 15th tournament appearance in the last 18 years.
- Clarion and IUP are tied for the third-most PSAC Tournament appearances all-time with 22.
- No Eastern Division team except for Millersville in 2007 and 2003 has won a tournament championship since Mansfield won it al in 1997. The Western Division has won 10 of the last 12 tournament titles and 13 of the last 16.
PSAC Tournament History (since 1981)
Year Champion Championship Game
2009 Gannon Gannon 80, Kutztown 65
2008 California (Pa.) California (Pa.) 73, Edinboro 65
2007 Millersville Millersville 79, Cheyney 68
2006 Edinboro Edinboro 52, Shippensburg 51
2005 Edinboro Edinboro 85, Millersville 76
2004 IUP IUP 83, Kutztown 74
2003 Millersville Millersville 79, California (Pa.) 74
2002 IUP IUP 71, California (Pa.) 68
2001 Clarion Clarion 80, West Chester 77 (ot)
2000 IUP IUP 63, Slippery Rock 50
1999 California (Pa.) California (Pa.) 75, Bloomsburg 64
1998 Edinboro Edinboro 83, West Chester 77
1997 Mansfield Mansfield 94, Clarion 80
1996 California (Pa.) California (Pa.) 87, IUP 84
1995 IUP IUP 87, California (Pa.) 69
1994 California (Pa.) California (Pa.) 78, IUP 76
1993 Millersville Millersville 97, California (Pa.) 84
1992 California (Pa.) California (Pa.) 92, Edinboro 76
1991 Shippensburg Shippensburg 76, Slippery Rock 75 (2ot)
1990 East Stroudsburg East Stroudsburg 108, Millersville 102 (ot)
1989 Millersville Millersville 89, Bloomsburg 85
1988 California (Pa.) California (Pa.) 73, Kutztown 64
1987 Millersville Millersville 100, California (Pa.) 94
1986 Cheyney Cheyney 90, Edinboro 67
1985 California (Pa.) California (Pa.) 81, Millersville 79
1984 Mansfield Mansfield 61, Bloomsburg 54
1983 Cheyney Cheyney 63, Bloomsburg 55
1982 Cheyney Cheyney 68, Bloomsburg 50
1981 Bloomsburg Bloomsburg 72, IUP 63
Clarion vs. Kutztown
Friday, March 5 - 5:30 p.m.
Leading Scorers
Clarion - Jamar Harrison (15.6 ppg); Lloyd Harrison (15.0 ppg); Shameel Carty (14.1 ppg); Paul McQueen (11.1 ppg)
Kutztown - Stephen Dennis (27.0 ppg); Ryan Washington (18.1 ppg); Julius Gray (13.3 ppg)
Leading Rebounders
Clarion - Shameel Carty (7.6 rpg); Paul McQueen (7.4 rpg)
Kutztown - Ryan Washington (9.9 rpg); Tamir Johnson (8.3 rpg)
Other Top Performers
Clarion - Lloyd Harrison (128 asst., 73 st.);
Kutztown - Stephen Dennis (129 asst.; 59 st.); Ryan Washington (69 blks., 40 st.)
2009-10 Meetings
Jan. 3 (at Kutztown) - Kutztown 98, Clarion 72
PSAC Rankings
Clarion Kutztown
Scoring Off. - 78.7 (3rd) Scoring Off. - 79.6 (2nd)
Scoring Def. - 70.2 (10th) Scoring Def. - 71.9 (13th)
Free Throw Pct. - 72.0% (1st) Free Throw Pct. - 67.4% (9th)
FG Pct. Off. - 46.5% (4th) FG Pct. Off. - 49.5% (1st)
FG Pct. Def. - 43.4% (11th) FG Pct. Def. - 39.9% (3rd)
3-pt. FG Pct. - 32.8% (9th) 3-pt. FG Pct. - 33.0% (7th)
3-pt. FG Pct. Def. - 31.7% (8th) 3-pt. FG Pct. Def. - 33.3% (14th)
Rebounding - 38.0 (8th) Rebounding - 39.5 (5th)
Rebounding Margin - +1.4 (9th) Rebounding Margin - +3.9 (5th)
Game Preview
This figures to be a high-scoring game at it matches up two of the top three scoring teams in the PSAC against two defenses that are ranked in the lower half of the league in scoring defense. However, although Kutztown give up just over a point-and-a-half more per game than Clarion, the Golden Bears have a much better field goal percentage defense than the Golden Eagles - over three percentage points. The two teams met previously this year during the first PSAC crossover weekend in January, and it was a high-scoring game, with Kutztown coming close to hitting the century mark .
Although both teams are within less than a point of each other in their team scoring average, they both get there differently. Kutztown has Division II’s leading scorer in Stephen Dennis and he and Ryan Washington account for over half of the team’s points. Clarion has four players averaging double figures and has a more balanced scoring attack with Jamar Harrison and Lloyd Harrison (no relation) both averaging in the neighborhood of 15 ppg.
In a close game, as many games this time of year tend to be, it could come down to free throw shooting, and if that is the case, look for Clarion to have an advantage. The Eagles shoot nearly five percentage points better than the Bears at the charity stripe and are the PSAC’s top free throw shooting team.
IUP vs. East Stroudsburg
Friday, March 5 - 7:30 p.m.
Leading Scorers
IUP - Thomas Young (16.1 ppg); Darryl Webb (15.4 ppg); Akida McLain (15.3 ppg); Julian Sanders (10.3 ppg)
East Stroudsburg - Andy Heimbach (13.1 ppg); Mike Tobin (10.4 ppg); Terrance King (8.9ppg)
Leading Rebounders
IUP - Darryl Webb (10.0 rpg); Akida McLain (7.8 rpg)
East Stroudsburg - Mike Tobin (7.3 rpg); Marcus Brown (5.1 rpg)
Other Top Performers
IUP - Ashton Smith (121 asst.); Darryl Webb (32 blks, 50 st.)
East Stroudsburg - Robby Pines (179 asst., 64 st.); Terrance King (41 blks)
2009-10 Meetings
None
PSAC Rankings
IUP East Stroudsburg
Scoring Off. - 77.9 (4th) Scoring Off. - 79.7 (1st)
Scoring Def. - 63.5 (2nd) Scoring Def. - 64.9 (3rd)
Free Throw Pct. - 68.9% (4th) Free Throw Pct. - 71.1 (2nd)
FG Pct. Off. - 47.3 (2nd) FG Pct. Off. - 44.9 (5th)
FG Pct. Def. - 40.2% (4th) FG Pct. Def. - 39.9% (2nd)
3-pt. FG Pct. - 31.4% (11th) 3-pt. FG Pct. -34.3% (4th)
3-pt. FG Pct. Def. - 30.4% (4th) 3-pt. FG Pct. Def. - 28.7% (1st)
Rebounding - 40.9 (4th) Rebounding - 41.7 (2nd)
Rebounding Margin - +9.3 (1st) Rebounding Margin - +6.6 (2nd)
Game Preview
IUP and East Stroudsburg have not met since the 2007-08 season and ESU has won the last three meetings, with IUP not having won since the 2004-05 season. The two teams are very similar statistically, yet each once again got there differently.
East Stroudsburg has the PSAC’s top scoring offense but does not have a single individual in the top 20 in the PSAC in scoring. Leading scorer Andy Heimbach ranks 24th in the league in scoring and ESU has just two players averaging double figures. By contrast, IUP has four different players averaging double figures and has three individuals in the top 20 in scoring. The two teams are also two of the top five rebounding teams in the PSAC but while IUP has two of the top 10 rebounders in the league in Darryl Webb and Akida McLain, ESU has just one in the top 20 in Mike Tobin. The two teams are also two of the best passing teams in the league, as they are 1-2 in assists while East Stroudsburg point guard Robby Pines leads the league in assist-turnover ratio.
The one area that either team has an advantage in is in three-point percentage, as ESU shoots almost three percentage points better, which could end up making a different in a close game.