EAST STROUDSBURG – Senior guards Andy Heimbach (first team) and Robby Pines (second team) were named All-Conference, forward Terrance King is the PSAC East Freshman of the Year and head coach Jeff Wilson is the PSAC East Coach of the Year after a record-setting 2009-10 season for East Stroudsburg University, it was announced Wednesday morning.

The Warriors (24-5) took home two of the three major awards in the division after setting the school record for wins, claiming a share of the PSAC East regular season championship and advancing to the semifinals of the PSAC tournament for the first time since 1992.

Wilson guided his alma mater, picked sixth in the PSAC East preseason coaches poll, to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in school history and joins Lynn Ramage (1998) and Sal Mentesana (1990) as Coach of the Year recipients. ESU will take on West Virginia State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday at 5 p.m. at IUP.

Wilson was an assistant under Mentesana for nine years, including the 1989-90 PSAC championship and NCAA Tournament team, and has been a member of the ESU men's basketball program as a player, assistant coach and head coach for 21 of the last 27 years.

He has a career record of 125-95 in eight seasons and is 92-48 with four PSAC playoff appearances in the past five years. Wilson and assistant coach Justin Potts took over a program that went 4-20 the year before their arrival in 2002-03. The 92 wins since 2005-06 are the most in a five-year stretch in school history.

King (Bushkill/East Stroudsburg North), a six-time PSAC East Freshman of the Week, is the fourth Warrior to be named Rookie of the Year and the first since Shahad Abdur-Rahkman in 2000. Juwan Justice was honored in 1999 and Luis Ortiz was recognized in 1995.

King is averaging 8.9 points and 4.6 rebounds per game while ranking fourth in the PSAC in field goal percentage (57.0) and seventh in blocked shots (1.4 per game). He leads conference freshmen in both categories and is second in scoring and rebounding, trailing only teammate Marcus Brown (5.1) in rebounds per game. King's 42 blocked shots this season are the third-most by a freshman in school history, trailing only Eric Yankowy (48, 1985-86) and Jonathan Roberts (44, 1986-87).

The senior leadership of Heimbach and Pines was recognized by the conference's coaches, who gave ESU a player on the first and second team for the first time in 10 seasons.

Heimbach is the Warriors' top scorer with 12.8 points per game, leading a balanced attack that ranks second in the PSAC in points per game despite having just one player ranked in the top 30 in scoring. He has been one of the top long distance shooters in the conference during his four years, ranking just outside the top 10 in PSAC history with 235 career three-pointers, including a school-record 75 this season. He is second in the PSAC with 2.6 three-pointers per game and 10th in three-point percentage (36.9), one of two players to rank in the top 10 in both categories.

ESU is 18-2 in the 20 games that Heimbach has scored at least 10 points this season, including a season-high 24 points in a 78-74 win at Dominican during the Warriors' school record 13-0 start, and 20 points in a 76-65 victory over Cheyney in the PSAC quarterfinals last week. He is also second on the team with 60 assists and has a 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Pines is ninth in Division II with 6.4 assists per game and has put together one of the top seasons by a point guard in school history, ranking second with 187 assists and fifth with 67 steals. He leads the PSAC in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.3), is third with 2.3 steals per game and fourth in free throw percentage (79.0).

The 5-9 guard is ESU's fourth-leading scorer (8.2 ppg) and rebounder (4.1 rpg) and has been indispensible throughout the record-setting season. He has played nearly 35 minutes per game since the start of the PSAC East schedule, averaging 7.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 6.4 assists, while shooting 39.5 percent (15-for-38) from the three-point line. He was sixth in Division II with a 3.0 assist-to-turnover ratio as a junior before stepping into a starting role in his senior season.

Heimbach, Pines and fellow tri-captain Mike Tobin, a junior forward, helped the Warriors acclimate a roster that included seven newcomers, including three freshmen in King, Marcus Brown and Duane Johnson who combined to win 11 of the 15 PSAC East Freshman of the Week awards.

The abundantly talented but inexperienced squad proceeded to win its first 13 games of the season to set the school record for the longest undefeated start. The Warriors were ranked in the NABC Coaches Poll for the first time since 1992 on January 12, the start a run of six straight weeks with a national ranking that saw them rise to No. 12 on February 9.

ESU won six straight games after an 87-84 loss at then-No. 3 Kutztown to take over first place in the PSAC East, and battled through a 1-3 stretch to post three straight wins to finish the regular season and earn a share of the PSAC East regular season title with a 10-4 conference record.

The Warriors won a PSAC playoff game for the first time in 19 years with their victory over Cheyney before falling to IUP, 67-63, in the semifinals at Koehler Fieldhouse.

They will travel to IUP to take on No. 12 West Virginia State in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Regional on Saturday and are playing in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in school history.



2009-10 All-PSAC East Men's Basketball Team

First Team
Sharif Bray, Cheyney
Yuseff Carr, Mansfield
Stephen Dennis, Kutztown
Ralph Hegamin, West Chester
Andy Heimbach, ESU
Ryan Washington, Kutztown

Second Team
Ruben Britt, Bloomsburg
Ryan Callahan, Mansfield
Julius Gray, Kutztown
Robby Pines, ESU
Kevin Presbery, Cheyney
Tyrone Smith, Cheyney

PSAC East Player of the Year – Stephen Dennis, Kutztown
PSAC East Freshman of the Year – Terrance King, ESU
PSAC East Coach of the Year – Jeff Wilson, ESU


2009-10 All-PSAC West Men's Basketball Team

First Team
Eric Brennan, Lock Haven
Maron Brown, Slippery Rock
George Johnson, Gannon
Byron Knight, Edinboro
Darryl Webb, IUP
Thomas Young, IUP

Second Team
Jabril Bailey, Slippery Rock
Jamar Harrison, Clarion
Lloyd Harrison, Clarion
Akida McLain, IUP
Heiden Ratner, Mercyhurst
Kelsey Williams, California

PSAC West Player of the Year – Thomas Young, IUP
PSAC West Freshman of the Year – Tanner Furno, Gannon
PSAC West Coach of the Year – Joe Lombardi, IUP