NABC Coaches Poll
EAST STROUDSBURG – The East Stroudsburg University men's basketball program has vaulted to No. 12 in the NABC Division II Coaches Poll and will take its highest-ever national ranking into Wednesday night's 8 p.m. tip-off against Bloomsburg at Koehler Fieldhouse.
The Warriors (19-1, 6-1), who sit in first place in the PSAC East, will also look to secure a 20-win season for the sixth time in school history and the first time since 1991-92, the only other time they have been nationally-ranked. They will be on the floor for the first time since last Wednesday, a 72-63 win at Millersville, after Saturday's match-up with Kutztown was postponed to Monday, February 15.
In the event of inclement weather on Wednesday, the game vs. Bloomsburg will be postponed to Thursday as part of a tripleheader at Koehler Fieldhouse. ESU would wrestle against Binghamton at 4 p.m., a match originally scheduled for 7 p.m., followed by the basketball doubleheader. Warriors fans are encouraged to check www.esuwarriors.com for updated game information.
ESU has a six-game winning streak and has been ranked for five straight weeks after opening the season with a 13-0 record, the best start in school history. Last week's spot at No. 20 in the NABC Coaches Poll tied the school's highest ranking, matching the 1991-92 squad that was No. 20 for one week in late January in a top 20 poll.
Senior guards
Andy Heimbach, ESU's leading scorer with 13.6 points per game, and
Robby Pines, who leads the PSAC and is ninth in Division II with 6.5 assists per game, lead the Warriors against a Bloomsburg squad that nearly knocked them off at Nelson Field House on January 20.
Heimbach and Pines are both approaching career milestones. Heimbach is 20 points away from tying Channon Easley for 20th in school history (1,065), and Pines is 11 assists from the career top 10 (Jeff Macko, 257) and 10 from the single season top 10 (Cliff Riddick, 139).
In the first meeting, ESU rallied from a 15-point deficit in the final 7:30 of regulation and stunned the Huskies with a 101-96 victory in double overtime. Pines scored a career-high 18 points and was on the floor with four freshmen for much of the 25-10 run late in the game, which included two three-pointers by guard
Gerald Bridges, Jr.
Bloomsburg is 8-12 overall and 2-6 in the PSAC East, which includes three overtime losses and a one-point loss to Mansfield, all at home. Cheyney posted a 92-78 (OT) win on Monday, a game that was scheduled for Saturday and postponed twice.
The Warriors' game against Kutztown on Saturday would have been the first meeting between nationally-ranked teams at Koehler Fieldhouse, an event that will have to wait at least one more week. Kutztown (17-3, 4-3) has lost three of its last five games heading into a home date with Mansfield on Wednesday after rising to No. 2 in the country. The Golden Bears are currently ranked No. 21 and were No. 15 last week.
ESU is the lone remaining one-loss team in the PSAC and one of six one-loss teams in Division II, along with No. 1 Arkansas Tech and No. 2 Southern Indiana, who are both unbeaten. IUP (18-2, 7-1) lost at PSAC West co-leader Clarion on Saturday and fell to No. 11 in this week's poll.
The NCAA Division II Atlantic Region rankings will be released on Wednesday. ESU was No. 3 last week, with IUP and West Liberty (W.V.) holding the top two spots.
