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EAST STROUDSBURG — The first game of PSAC play was not kind to East Stroudsburg University basketball, as both the men's and women's teams drop the opener to PSAC West opponent Seton Hill inside Koehler Fieldhouse.
For the women, ESU led after the first quarter, but the Griffins won every quarter after that to win the game 78-70. Lacey Kringe led four Warriors in double figures with 17, and Seton Hill's Helene Cowan had a game-high 21 points while Hailee Ford and Mia Kalich each had a double-double.
The men nearly pulled off an amazing comeback as a late push forced the game into overtime, but Seton Hill went on a 10-0 run in the extra period that the Warriors couldn't overcome, and they lost 93-85.
Ethan Millirons (23 points on 7-of-9 shooting from deep) and Ethan Maynard (22 on 6-of-10 shooting) were the bright spots for the men, who lost their first game of the year to fall to 6-1.
More: Stroudsburg boys basketball aims to take next step with young group
The most glaring factor in the Warriors' loss to the Griffins is the rebounding battle: Seton Hill grabbed more than 20 boards than East Stroudsburg for a 55-34 advantage. Within that, Seton Hill grabbed 20 offensive rebounds for 21 second chance points.
Where ESU found success however was in transition and turning defense into offense; the Warriors scored 17 points off 23 Seton Hill turnovers along with 17 fastbreak points.
"We have a lot of things to clean up if we want to be competitive in this conference, but a lot of really great things as well that we saw tonight," head coach Liz Flooks said after the game. "If we can just put together a full game, I think we could really be a dangerous team in the PSAC."
Flooks said before the season that it would be a completely different offense than the one last year that ran through Emily Chmiel. While the scoring is more balanced, the offensive pace has increased. The Warriors have scored 70 or more points three times in the first seven games after reaching that mark only six times all of last season.
They're also on pace to take nearly 100 more 3-point attempts than last season while making more than three times as many shots from beyond the arc. Perimeter shooting was an issue last year, but ESU is working to address that.
"We're getting there," Flooks said about the offense so far. "Baby steps. It's a long season and a lot of games."
With the next game not until Dec. 16 against Clarion on the road, 5-2 ESU has a chance to address its weaknesses after a strong 5-2 start. That also includes working 5-foot-11 freshman Kiera McKown into the rotation, who played her second-career game against Seton Hill after a preseason injury.
"She's getting there. She's got some time to figure it out, but she looked pretty good against Seton Hill," Flooks said.
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The biggest external issue for East Stroudsburg against the Griffins was 6-foot-9 freshman and NBA Academy alum Edir Ortiz, who knocked down five 3-pointers for a game-high 23 points. Seton Hill also frequently switched defenses between man-to-man and zone, which slowed down a usually fast-paced offense for head coach Jeff Wilson.
"Seton Hill did a really good job of coming in, taking away some of our deficiencies, especially right now, being a little bit banged up, playing some different guys in different spots that they're really not natural," Wilson said after the game. "I thought they did a really good job game-planning, making some adjustments, both in their zone and in their man-to-man. That gave us a lot of problems and kept us off balance today. So I think that was a big key to the game."
ESU also lost the rebounding battle 39-33, but that's in part due to a growing internal issue for the Warriors: injuries. Senior forward Kevin Coleman missed the last couple of games with an ankle injury, including against Seton Hill, where he was in a walking boot and riding a scooter.
How long he'll be out has not been confirmed, but his absence is the latest in a growing list of injuries. Both point guards Davon Lee and Saleem Payne are out with injuries, forcing other players out of their comfort zone and into other roles in the offense. Now with Coleman out, that stretches the depth even further.
One bright spot, however, was the scalding hot shooting from the "Ethans": Ethan Maynard and Ethan Millirons, who combined for 45 points on 13-of-19 shooting from deep. While it's a lot to expect that level of shooting every game, both players draw an equal amount of gravity.
"We're not in the game without those two guys playing like they did today," Wilson said. "They made a lot of shots to get us back in the game. Without both Ethans, we probably lose by 8-10 points in regulation instead of forcing overtime."
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Maynard was responsible for the late steal and layup while getting fouled to force overtime, and Millirons made seven 3-pointers in a row to keep ESU in the game. But with injuries and Keni Williams fouling out, it forced both players to be on the ball and run the offense, which they can do, but it's not a strength.
"To be very honest with you, when they have to do too much with the basketball, our team suffers, and we're not running enough offense when they are having to be the point," Wilson said. "That's where we're at currently, right now, we just got to get better at it."
Despite the injuy setbacks, ESU men's basketball is 6-1 with 10 days until its next game, and this is a team that's playing with a lot of new faces — from Williams and Maynard, to freshman Adrian Brito, who's played very well early in his career.
The break provides a chance for the Warriors to assess and use the Seton Hill game as a precursor of what to expect the rest of the season.
"It's PSAC basketball. It's physical. Guys are strong. They are grown men," Wilson said. "You just got to improve. And you got to play better than we did against Seton Hill to be honest with you."
East Stroudsburg University men's and women's basketball have identical schedules: at Clarion on Dec. 16, then a home back-to-back doubleheader against Pitt-Johnston and IUP on Dec. 20 and 21.
This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: ESU men's, women's hoops drop PSAC opener to Seton Hill
Continue reading...
For the women, ESU led after the first quarter, but the Griffins won every quarter after that to win the game 78-70. Lacey Kringe led four Warriors in double figures with 17, and Seton Hill's Helene Cowan had a game-high 21 points while Hailee Ford and Mia Kalich each had a double-double.
The men nearly pulled off an amazing comeback as a late push forced the game into overtime, but Seton Hill went on a 10-0 run in the extra period that the Warriors couldn't overcome, and they lost 93-85.
Ethan Millirons (23 points on 7-of-9 shooting from deep) and Ethan Maynard (22 on 6-of-10 shooting) were the bright spots for the men, who lost their first game of the year to fall to 6-1.
More: Stroudsburg boys basketball aims to take next step with young group
ESU women's basketball gets outrebounded in loss to Seton Hill
The most glaring factor in the Warriors' loss to the Griffins is the rebounding battle: Seton Hill grabbed more than 20 boards than East Stroudsburg for a 55-34 advantage. Within that, Seton Hill grabbed 20 offensive rebounds for 21 second chance points.
Where ESU found success however was in transition and turning defense into offense; the Warriors scored 17 points off 23 Seton Hill turnovers along with 17 fastbreak points.
"We have a lot of things to clean up if we want to be competitive in this conference, but a lot of really great things as well that we saw tonight," head coach Liz Flooks said after the game. "If we can just put together a full game, I think we could really be a dangerous team in the PSAC."
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Flooks said before the season that it would be a completely different offense than the one last year that ran through Emily Chmiel. While the scoring is more balanced, the offensive pace has increased. The Warriors have scored 70 or more points three times in the first seven games after reaching that mark only six times all of last season.
They're also on pace to take nearly 100 more 3-point attempts than last season while making more than three times as many shots from beyond the arc. Perimeter shooting was an issue last year, but ESU is working to address that.
"We're getting there," Flooks said about the offense so far. "Baby steps. It's a long season and a lot of games."
With the next game not until Dec. 16 against Clarion on the road, 5-2 ESU has a chance to address its weaknesses after a strong 5-2 start. That also includes working 5-foot-11 freshman Kiera McKown into the rotation, who played her second-career game against Seton Hill after a preseason injury.
"She's getting there. She's got some time to figure it out, but she looked pretty good against Seton Hill," Flooks said.
Pocono 1K passing seasons: See the updated all-time list with the 2025 1,000-yard passers.
Injury-riddled ESU men's basketball loses overtime thriller to Seton Hill
The biggest external issue for East Stroudsburg against the Griffins was 6-foot-9 freshman and NBA Academy alum Edir Ortiz, who knocked down five 3-pointers for a game-high 23 points. Seton Hill also frequently switched defenses between man-to-man and zone, which slowed down a usually fast-paced offense for head coach Jeff Wilson.
"Seton Hill did a really good job of coming in, taking away some of our deficiencies, especially right now, being a little bit banged up, playing some different guys in different spots that they're really not natural," Wilson said after the game. "I thought they did a really good job game-planning, making some adjustments, both in their zone and in their man-to-man. That gave us a lot of problems and kept us off balance today. So I think that was a big key to the game."
ESU also lost the rebounding battle 39-33, but that's in part due to a growing internal issue for the Warriors: injuries. Senior forward Kevin Coleman missed the last couple of games with an ankle injury, including against Seton Hill, where he was in a walking boot and riding a scooter.
How long he'll be out has not been confirmed, but his absence is the latest in a growing list of injuries. Both point guards Davon Lee and Saleem Payne are out with injuries, forcing other players out of their comfort zone and into other roles in the offense. Now with Coleman out, that stretches the depth even further.
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One bright spot, however, was the scalding hot shooting from the "Ethans": Ethan Maynard and Ethan Millirons, who combined for 45 points on 13-of-19 shooting from deep. While it's a lot to expect that level of shooting every game, both players draw an equal amount of gravity.
"We're not in the game without those two guys playing like they did today," Wilson said. "They made a lot of shots to get us back in the game. Without both Ethans, we probably lose by 8-10 points in regulation instead of forcing overtime."
Pocono 1K receivers and rushers: See the updated all-time list with the 2025 1,000-yard rushers and receivers
Maynard was responsible for the late steal and layup while getting fouled to force overtime, and Millirons made seven 3-pointers in a row to keep ESU in the game. But with injuries and Keni Williams fouling out, it forced both players to be on the ball and run the offense, which they can do, but it's not a strength.
"To be very honest with you, when they have to do too much with the basketball, our team suffers, and we're not running enough offense when they are having to be the point," Wilson said. "That's where we're at currently, right now, we just got to get better at it."
Despite the injuy setbacks, ESU men's basketball is 6-1 with 10 days until its next game, and this is a team that's playing with a lot of new faces — from Williams and Maynard, to freshman Adrian Brito, who's played very well early in his career.
The break provides a chance for the Warriors to assess and use the Seton Hill game as a precursor of what to expect the rest of the season.
"It's PSAC basketball. It's physical. Guys are strong. They are grown men," Wilson said. "You just got to improve. And you got to play better than we did against Seton Hill to be honest with you."
East Stroudsburg University men's and women's basketball have identical schedules: at Clarion on Dec. 16, then a home back-to-back doubleheader against Pitt-Johnston and IUP on Dec. 20 and 21.
This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: ESU men's, women's hoops drop PSAC opener to Seton Hill
Continue reading...
