PSAC EAST

[WarriorVoice]

Playing without F Kevin Coleman, ESU is trailing winless Mercy 50-43 at the half...The Warriors open the 2nd half with a 14-4 run to lead by 3 2:25 into the half...They hold off Mercy 98-92. It's a typical Jeff Wilson defense that can manufacture a 14-4 run, but it is still an impressive thing to see it with a much different roster. F Carson Howard led the Warriors with a career-high 22 points. F Nasir Griffin had 18, while Guards Ethan Millirons and Keni Williams added 13 each.

On another note, Mercy is an interesting study. Coach Charles Marquardt leaves Molloy after 30+ years, and loads this Mercy team with transfers, a number of them from Louisiana. They have 2 pure scorers in Kohen Rowbatham and Jordan Trahan, and a bunch of other guys.

One more tuneup against Charles Marquardt's old school before Seton Hill comes to the Poconos. In other news, It snowed today and we have the potential for 8 inches on Tuesday. I have a feeling Mother Nature is going to play havoc with the schedule this season. I hope I'm wrong...

[WarriorVoice]

Make it 6-0 for ESU. Adrian Brito led the Warriors with 21 points, and dished out 4 assists in the win. After going without a 20-point scorer in their 1st 4 games, Brito had the 2nd one in 2 games, following Carson Howard's 22 points on Sunday. This team has not had the toughest non-conference schedule, but the chemistry is getting better every game. Jalen Pichardo hauled in 13 rebounds, giving him 30 in his last 2 games. Ethan Millirons is hitting 3-pointers at better than 50%, and Ethan Maynard and Keni Williams are running the offense very well. Can't wait to see how they match up with Seton Hill.

[Ship69]

Ship continues to be competitive with a narrow loss on the road to once-beaten Seton Hill this and a road win over Bowie State this week. Markus Frank, Jaydon Smith, and Michael Dickson continue to be steady contributors, but the most encouraging thing was 32 points from true freshman Ben Rill over the two games. Things pick up for the Raiders with the start of their PSAC schedule on Dec. 16, and they could still use the return of some of their injured forwards to have the depth needed to challenge in the East.

[WarriorVoice]

ESU Men were down by 13, but battled back and extended Seton Hill to overtome. The Griffins were picked 5 th in the West. If they don't finish in the top 3, I'll be shocked.

[Ship69]

ESU Men were down by 13, but battled back and extended Seton Hill to overtome. The Griffins were picked 5 th in the West. If they don't finish in the top 3, I'll be shocked.

Seton Hill has some nice shooters and also has been pretty fortunate so far this season. Ship was within two of them with less than 90 seconds to go in that game and ended up losing by 5. The main difference was 10 more FT attempts for Seton Hill, which accounted for the five-point difference as they made 15. Ship was actually 10 of 10 from the FT line and shot well for the game. Griffins also had a more favorable TO ratio. The Griffins also managed to edge an erratic Frostburg team in a close game. Frostburg was hot as a firecracker against Ship and Shepherd, not so much against other PSAC teams.

Overall, the West looks to be better balanced than the East this season. Gannon likely is the top team again. We'll have some decent teams in the East, but they don't look to be at some of the peak strength we've seen in the past. Ship is improving, but probably still a season or two away from real contention. Lock Haven seems to have slipped some, and Shepherd might not be as good as last year. Bloom and Mansfield haven't looked good at all. West Chester, the preseason East pick, probably is best in the East, although they've always been a hard bunch to figure out.

[WarriorVoice]

Seton Hill has some nice shooters and also has been pretty fortunate so far this season. Ship was within two of them with less than 90 seconds to go in that game and ended up losing by 5. The main difference was 10 more FT attempts for Seton Hill, which accounted for the five-point difference as they made 15. Ship was actually 10 of 10 from the FT line and shot well for the game. Griffins also had a more favorable TO ratio. The Griffins also managed to edge an erratic Frostburg team in a close game. Frostburg was hot as a firecracker against Ship and Shepherd, not so much against other PSAC teams.

Overall, the West looks to be better balanced than the East this season. Gannon likely is the top team again. We'll have some decent teams in the East, but they don't look to be at some of the peak strength we've seen in the past. Ship is improving, but probably still a season or two away from real contention. Lock Haven seems to have slipped some, and Shepherd might not be as good as last year. Bloom and Mansfield haven't looked good at all. West Chester, the preseason East pick, probably is best in the East, although they've always been a hard bunch to figure out.

The Warriors have been without big man Kevin Coleman. He's their biggest low post threat and they aren't the same offensive team with out him. ESU is not a very good FT shooting team right now, at just over 63%, 2nd worst in the PSAC. Luckily they have the 4th most attempts, and 6th in made FTs. Getting Coleman back will be huge for the team, who has already lost starting guard Davon Lee to injury.

[Ship69]

The Warriors have been without big man Kevin Coleman. He's their biggest low post threat and they aren't the same offensive team with out him. ESU is not a very good FT shooting team right now, at just over 63%, 2nd worst in the PSAC. Luckily they have the 4th most attempts, and 6th in made FTs. Getting Coleman back will be huge for the team, who has already lost starting guard Davon Lee to injury.

Injuries have been a big factor for quite a few teams the last couple of season. Ship losing point guard Michael Dickson after four games last season certainly wasn't a help. The offense is running much more smoothly with him playing this year. Right now, their greatest need is for big or tall bodies, and having three forwards sitting on the bench in tracksuits is not helping currently. They especially miss the inside play of Denzel Figueroa, one of the team's few seniors, who plays a lot bigger than his 6-3 height listed on the program. The only good thing about it is that Ben Rill, a talented freshman, is getting more minutes to get acclimated to the college game. I hate to see any team crippled by injury and hope our PSAC teams will have better luck with that this season.

[jrshooter]

Sadness in the Shippensburg camp today with the passing of longtime assistant Dave Miller.

https://shipraiders.com/news/2025/12...ve-miller.aspx

[Ship69]

Sadness in the Shippensburg camp today with the passing of longtime assistant Dave Miller.

https://shipraiders.com/news/2025/12...ve-miller.aspx

You just beat me to posting that one. Just saw him at the last home stand doing his usual ritual of passing out peppermints to people at the scorers' table before the game. Nice guy who loved the game and just wanted to be around it.

[WarriorVoice]

There are a ton of guys like Dave around sports teams. Many of them never get the recognition they deserve until after they've gone. RIP Mr. Miller.

[WarriorVoice]

ESU men open the game with a 16-0 run against the Golden Eagles and never looked back. Ethan Millirons continues to shoot at a torrid pace from behind the arc. 90% of his made FGs are 3-pointers, and he's on a record-setting pace. He was 5-5 from behind the arc, and led ESU with 15. Meanwhile 7 different Warriors hit 3-pointers in the blowout win. 3 bench players scored in double figures for ESU, who puts the loss to Seton Hill in their rear-view mirror. This weekend will be a great test for ESU with Pitt-Johnstown and Indiana(Pa) coming to the Poconos.

[jrshooter]

ESU men open the game with a 16-0 run against the Golden Eagles and never looked back. Ethan Millirons continues to shoot at a torrid pace from behind the arc. 90% of his made FGs are 3-pointers, and he's on a record-setting pace. He was 5-5 from behind the arc, and led ESU with 15. Meanwhile 7 different Warriors hit 3-pointers in the blowout win. 3 bench players scored in double figures for ESU, who puts the loss to Seton Hill in their rear-view mirror. This weekend will be a great test for ESU with Pitt-Johnstown and Indiana(Pa) coming to the Poconos.

Did Jeremy Thomas get hurt there? I saw he played only four minutes.

[WarriorVoice]

Did Jeremy Thomas get hurt there? I saw he played only four minutes.

There was a collision on a play when Adrian Brito was driving to the basket. He fell right on top of Thomas. Thomas left and did not return to the game. Brito did return to the game...

[Ship69]

Ship's lack of a consistent inside game was exposed against California. Denzel Figueroa did play sparingly in the second half. They'll continue to struggle against bigs until they get more depth on the front line.

[jrshooter]

A big win escapes Ship at Heiges on Saturday afternoon; it falls apart for the Raiders in the final minute of a 76-70 loss to 10-1 Slippery Rock. Up to that final minute, I think it's safe to say it was Shippensburg's best performance of 2025.

• I completely underestimated the impact Michael Dickson (21 points) would have on this program upon his transfer from Mansfield. He was clearly the quickest guy on the court in this one, and is never afraid to challenge the tall trees. One of the best penetrators they've had in a while. Seven turnovers hurt, but I chalk that up mostly to playing in the fast lane.
• Ben Rill has to force some more minutes from Chris Fite. He has all the earmarks of a standout PSAC big man. Another freshman, Roman Catholic product Sebastian Edwards, also looked very good out front.
• Markus Frank, where art thou? One shot from the floor after halftime, and a bad turnover during the Rock's closing 6-0 run. He was off the floor at some key times.
• The Ship PBP guy, though very thorough and doing it without any color man, gets so loud on big moments that you have to keep the volume turned down too low the rest of the time.