Game Notes (PDF) / Media Guide / Follow the Warriors with Andy Heimbach

LIVE VIDEO of Saturday's game (5 p.m.)

THE MATCH-UP: ESU, the No. 5 seed in the Atlantic Region, takes on No. 4 West Virginia State in the first round of the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship on Saturday night at Memorial Field House on the campus of IUP.

ESU is making the second appearance in the NCAA Tournament in school history. The Warriors' 1989-90 team won its first round game over Slippery Rock, 99-98 (OT), before falling to Gannon, 72-63, in the second round of the regional held at Mercyhurst.

ALL-PSAC EAST SELECTIONS: Sr. G Andy Heimbach (first team) and Sr. G Robby Pines (second team) were named All-Conference, Fr. F 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 the Warriors.

Heimbach is the leading scorer (12.8 ppg) on the second-highest scoring team in the PSAC. He ranks 2nd in the PSAC with 2.6 3-pointers per game and is 10th in 3-point percentage (36.9), one of two players in the top 10 in both categories. He holds school records for 3-pointers in a season (75) and career (235), ranking just outside the top 10 in PSAC history in career 3's.

Pines is 9th in Division II with 6.4 assists per game and is in the top four in the PSAC in four categories - assists, assist-to-turnover ratio (1st, 2.3), steals (3rd, 2.3) and free throw percentage (4th, 79.0). He is also the Warriors' fourth-leading scorer (8.2 ppg) and rebounder (4.1 rpg) and leads ESU with 31.1 minutes per game this season, including 34.8 minutes per game since the start of the conference schedule.

King earned six PSAC East Freshman of the Week awards after averaging 8.9 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, ranking 4th in the PSAC in field goal percentage (57.0) and 7th in blocked shots with 1.4 per game. He was part of a class that earned 11 of the 15 weekly awards for PSAC East freshmen, along with forwards Duane Johnson (3) and Marcus Brown (2).

Wilson guided his alma mater, picked 6th 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. 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 after taking over a program that went 4-20 the year before his arrival in 2002-03. The 92 wins are the most in a five-year stretch in school history.

RECORD-SETTING SEASON: ESU has a school-record 24 wins, passing the 1972-73 team that went 23-4. The Warriors have put together the sixth 20-win season in school history and reached a number of milestones along the way:

* NCAA Tournament appearance for first time since 1990
* PSAC East regular season championship for first time since 1992
* PSAC semifinals for first time since 1992
* won PSAC tournament game for first time since 1991
* 13-0 start was the longest undefeated start in school history
* 19-1 start was the best 20-game record in school history
* Nationally-ranked for six straight weeks (No. 12 on February 9)
* Nationally-ranked for the second time in school history (one week in 1991-92)

ESU vs. WV STATE: ESU will face West Virginia State for the first time in school history. The Warriors are 4-9 against IUP and had won three straight (2006-08) before Friday's PSAC semifinal, and are 0-2 against Fairmont State in a pair of meetings in 1997 and 1998.

ESU is 3-4 vs. IUP under head coach Jeff Wilson:

2009-10 - L 67-63 (PSAC semifinals)
2007-08 – W 57-39
2006-07 – W 71-59 (A)
2005-06 – W 78-56
2004-05 – L 86-64 (A)
2003-04 – L 98-48 (A)
2002-03 – L 72-55

PSAC TOURNAMENT: ESU advanced to the PSAC semifinals for the fourth time in school history and the first time since 1992, beating Cheyney 76-65 in the quarterfinals before falling to IUP, 67-63. The Warriors overcame a nine-point deficit to tie the game at 63-all with 2:19 left, but IUP closed the game with the final four points, all at the foul line in the final minute, to move into the championship game.

Pines led ESU with 11 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals and Jr. G Micah Covert added 11 points. ESU outrebounded IUP 36-32, but shot just 37.7 percent from the field and 5-for-22 from the 3-point line.

Against Cheyney, Heimbach scored 20 points, going 6-for-12 from long distance, and ESU was 12-for-25 behind the arc to advance to the semifinals. Pines had 6 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists, Jr. F Mike Tobin had 13 points and 8 rebounds and King scored 12 points in 15 minutes. The Warriors went ahead for good with 5:46 left and finished on an 18-7 run.

BALANCED WARRIORS: ESU has one of the most balanced teams in the country, with its top scorer (Heimbach, 12.8 ppg) ranked 24th in the PSAC and top rebounder (Tobin, 7.2 rpg) tied for 13th.

The Warriors have nine players averaging at least 15 minutes per game and seven averaging at least 7.0 points per game. Since the start of conference play, ESU has had 54 double-figure scorers in 16 games, with all nine players in the regular rotation averaging at least 5.0 points per game.

SENIOR LEADERS: Pines is 2nd in school history with 187 assists this season, 6th with 304 assists in his career, 5th in single-season steals with 67, and t-10th with 121 career steals. He is in his only year as a full-time starter after ranking 6th in Division II with a 3.0 assist-to-turnover ratio last season.

Heimbach holds ESU records for three-pointers in a season (75) and career (235) and has 1,146 career points, 15th in school history. He is shooting 83.9 percent at the foul line and 36.9 percent from long distance this season. Heimbach was ESU's leading returning scorer with 9.7 points per game and averaged 11.7 points as a sophomore.

THE STARTING FIVE: Tobin and Jr. G Mike DeMarco join Pines, Heimbach and King in the Warriors' starting five. ESU is getting 47.7 points per game from its starters this season for 60 percent of its scoring.

Tobin is averaging 10.3 points and 7.2 rebounds per game during a breakout season which includes the first three double-doubles of his career. He posted team-highs of 11.6 points and 7.4 rebounds in conference games and has hit double figures in 10 of the last 16 games. The Warriors were 9-1 when Tobin scored 10+ points in that stretch, and 2-4 when he didn't.

DeMarco is in his second year as a starter and is averaging 7.8 points per game after contributing 7.7 points as a sophomore. He is shooting 35 percent from the three-point line this year and 75 percent at the foul line for his career.

King is the 4th ESU player to earn the PSAC East Freshman of the Year award, joining Shahad Abdur-Rahkman (2000), Juwan Justice (1999) and Luis Ortiz (1995). He leads PSAC freshmen in field goal percentage (57.0) and blocked shots (1.4 per game) and is 2nd in scoring (8.9 ppg) and rebounding (4.6). He is shooting 62.9 percent from the field since the start of conference play.

Blocks by an ESU Freshman:
1. Eric Yankowy, 1985-86 48
2. Jonathan Roberts, 1986-87 44
3. Terrance King, 2009-10 42

OFF THE BENCH: Covert, Johnson, Brown and So. F Eric Bryan are the Warriors' key contributors off the bench. Covert is fifth on the team in scoring (7.9 ppg) and has hit double figures 10 times this season while playing 20 minutes per game.

Johnson is one of ESU's top perimeter defenders and is averaging 6.8 points and 3.5 rebounds per game, and Brown is the Warriors' second-leading rebounder and the top freshman rebounder in the conference (5.1 per game) while scoring 7.0 points.

Bryan gives the Warriors 5.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in 16 minutes per game as the backup center behind King. Fr. G Gerald Bridges, Jr. and Sr. F Preston Ritter have also been part of the Warriors' rotation this year. Bridges played in 11 of the 14 PSAC East games and shot 5-for-10 from the 3-point line, and Ritter saw action in nine conference games this season.

FRESHMEN OF THE WEEK: King (6), Johnson (3) and Brown (2) combined to earn 11 of the 15 PSAC East Freshmen of the Week awards this year. The trio averaged 22.7 points, 13.2 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game in the regular season and Johnson and Brown provided 44 percent of the Warriors' bench scoring.

THE ATLANTIC REGIONAL: The Atlantic Regional is the only split-site regional in this year's NCAA Division II Tournament. The quarterfinals will be played on Saturday at 5 and 7 p.m. with the semifinals on Sunday at 7 p.m. at IUP and West Liberty.

The regional final will be played on Tuesday on the floor of the highest seed remaining. The regional champion will advance to the Elite Eight at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass. on March 24, 25 and 27.

Three schools earned automatic bids to the tournament - IUP (PSAC), West Virginia State (WVIAC) and Saint Augustine's (CIAA) - by winning their conference championships.

Site 1 - Indiana, Pa.
No. 1 IUP (28-2) vs. Fairmont State (22-7)
No. 4 WV State (28-3) vs. ESU (24-5)

Site 2 - Wheeling, W.V.
No. 2 West Liberty (27-2) vs. No. 7 Alderson Broaddus (24-6)
No. 3 Saint Augustine's (26-4) vs. No. 6 Kutztown (23-7)

SCOUTING WV STATE: The Yellow Jackets (28-3) have won 13 straight games and are ranked No. 12 in the NABC Coaches Poll, rising six spots after winning the WVIAC championship with a 108-107 victory over West Liberty on Saturday Night. They average 95.3 points per game, third-most in Division II, and are second with 11.5 3-pointers per game while shooting 40 percent from long distance.

WV State has scored more than 80 points in 26 of its 31 games this season, and all three losses came to NCAA Tournament teams - 90-70 vs. Barry (Fla.) on Nov. 28, 84-79 at Alderson-Broaddus on Jan. 21 and 100-85 at Fairmont State on Feb. 4. WV State won both meetings with West Liberty by one point - 117-116 in OT and 108-107 in the WVIAC title game.

Jr. G Josh Miller (20.7 ppg) and Sr. G Darren Jones (20.1 ppg) lead an attack that has five players averaging in double figures. Jones (5.5) and Miller (5.3) are also over five assists per game, Miller is averaging 2.8 steals per game and Jones is shooting 87.2 percent at the foul line (123-for-141).

Sr. G Jason Emerson is among the nation's leaders with 100 3-pointers and a 44.8 percent from long distance while averaging just 16 minutes per game. He has made 110 field goals on the season and is 10-for-10 inside the 3-point arc. So. G Bo King has hit on 42.3 percent of his 3-point attempts with 60 makes.

In the post, Jr. F Fred Harris is 2nd in Division II with 4.4 blocks per game and is the team's leading rebounder with 7.7 per game.

Bryan Poore is in his 11th season as the head coach at WV State and has a record of 221-110 (.668). The mark includes 20-win seasons in six of the last seven years, including the last five straight (125-33, .791).

GUARDING THE 3-POINT LINE: WV State has taken 889 3-pointers this season, an average of 28.7 per game, with the top five scorers all hitting at least 46 three's and shooting at least 36.4 percent from behind the arc.

ESU's 3-point percentage defense will be put to the test. The Warriors led the PSAC with opponents shooting just 28.9 percent from long range (125-433), which includes solid efforts against the top-shooting teams in the PSAC.

ESU played four of the top five teams in the PSAC in 3-point percentage - Cheyney, West Chester, Edinboro and Mansfield - and held them to 29.1 percent (32-110) over seven games.