MANSFIELD – The Mansfield University men's basketball team fell to red-hot East Stroudsburg University, 113-90, in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) action on Wednesday night, Jan. 5 inside Decker Gymnasium.

The Mountaineers' (1-11, 0-6 PSAC) 90 points is their second most this season. The Mountaineers shot 45 percent (33-of-72) from the floor and 80 percent from the foul line (21-of-26). However, the Warriors (6-4, 4-2 PSAC) went 55 percent (47-of-86) from the field, while knocking down 14 trifectas compared to the Mountaineers' three.

The Mounties overcame 12 first-half turnovers to remain within eight points at the break, but ESU used a 22-8 run to start the second half to extend their lead to 71-51. Every basket by the Warriors was created off a Mountaineer turnover.

ESU's relentless defensive effort continued to get stronger, which led to easy baskets (65 percent shooting in the half) to help them build their lead to 87-61 with just over 10 minutes to go. ESU connected on 7-of-12 3-pointers during the run to help put the game out of reach.

Freshman Justice Smith and sophomore Jaz Farrell scored a team-high 16 points, while Smith pulled in five rebounds and Farrell notched six. Sophomore Marcus Friend plucked four steals and added 10 points, while freshman Manir Waller netted 12. Freshman Graham Wooden knocked down two trifectas on his way to 11 points, one shy of a career high.

In the first half, Smith opened the scoring with a basket before ESU responded with an 8-0 run to lead 8-2 at the 18:34 mark. Smith remained hot, with six of his 12 first-half points to bring the Mounties within two, 10-8, at the first media timeout.

ESU used an aggressive full-court press to convert Mountie turnovers to transition points, but MU remained within striking distance thanks to six points from Waller and two trifectas from Graham Wooden.

Farrell converted two free throws before netting a layup to trim the deficit to 22-18 with 9:25 remaining. However, ESU went on to outscore MU 24-16 over the ensuing seven minutes to take their largest lead of the half, 46-32 with 2:10 to go.

Wooden answered with a 4-0 run of his own to bring the Mounties within 10, 46-36, before ESU halted the run with a triple.

Ali led the Mounties on a 4-0 run to close out the half with a pair of free throws before finding a streaking Farrell for a dunk to head to halftime trailing 49-41.  

For ESU, Carlos Pepin led all scorers with 25 points (11-of-15, 3-of-3 from 3-point land), while also pulling in nine rebounds.

The Mounties travel to Bloomsburg a 3 p.m. for a PSAC East game on Saturday, Jan. 8.