PSAC EAST

[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.

[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.

[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]

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.

[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]

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]

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]

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]

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.

[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]

One nice early sign is Ship off to a good start. They have 4 straight wins after a tough opening loss at Frostburg. The win over Wilmington is especially exciting because they were coming off a win over Millersville, usually one of the contenders in the East. A solid Ship squad is good for the division.

ESU has mostly done their job against yet another weak non-conference slate. The only team they've played who seems to have a pulse is Virginia State, which admittedly getting a road win over them is a very good result. I'd like to see more of that than home games over the likes of Georgian Court and Mercy, which doesn't challenge the Warriors at all. Maybe even schedule Daemen or a GMAC team for once, it's really not THAT far for a team that ostensibly wants to compete at the D2 level.

Building chemistry is important with as many newcomers ESU has in their lineup. That takes time and wins over weaker opponents builds confidence. Many of these non-conference games are scheduled years in advance, so you take what you get.

Two weeks in, ESU has the #1, 2 and 9 most accurate shooters in the PSAC. Seton Hill comes into Koehler Fieldhouse. Little-known fact: Koehler rhymes with sailor. Not many people know that...

[Ship69]

One nice early sign is Ship off to a good start. They have 4 straight wins after a tough opening loss at Frostburg. The win over Wilmington is especially exciting because they were coming off a win over Millersville, usually one of the contenders in the East. A solid Ship squad is good for the division.

ESU has mostly done their job against yet another weak non-conference slate. The only team they've played who seems to have a pulse is Virginia State, which admittedly getting a road win over them is a very good result. I'd like to see more of that than home games over the likes of Georgian Court and Mercy, which doesn't challenge the Warriors at all. Maybe even schedule Daemen or a GMAC team for once, it's really not THAT far for a team that ostensibly wants to compete at the D2 level.

Things are about to get a lot rougher for Ship with away games against an unbeaten Seton Hill and a Bowie State squad that is always a handful on its home court, followed by a trip to Cal. Then There's a home back-to-back against Slippery Rock and Edinboro, followed by the always-popular tip to Erie to play Gannon at the beginning of January.

The Raiders will score some points, but with forwards Denzel Figueroa, Gabe Romero-Sanz, and David Dorsey on the sidelines, probably lack the defensive depth to keep up with some of the deeper teams in the PSAC at this point. They need to get one or two of those guys back before they get too deep into the season. Having point guard Michael Dickson back has made a huge difference to the offense, and they're also getting quality play out of Markus Frank and Jaydon Smith. Freshmen Ben Rill and Sebastian Edwards are getting some minutes and show potential. Ship is better in some areas than they've been for the past couple of seasons, but are probably still a year or two away from being a vintage Chris Fite squad.

[EastStroud13]

One nice early sign is Ship off to a good start. They have 4 straight wins after a tough opening loss at Frostburg. The win over Wilmington is especially exciting because they were coming off a win over Millersville, usually one of the contenders in the East. A solid Ship squad is good for the division.

ESU has mostly done their job against yet another weak non-conference slate. The only team they've played who seems to have a pulse is Virginia State, which admittedly getting a road win over them is a very good result. I'd like to see more of that than home games over the likes of Georgian Court and Mercy, which doesn't challenge the Warriors at all. Maybe even schedule Daemen or a GMAC team for once, it's really not THAT far for a team that ostensibly wants to compete at the D2 level.

[WarriorVoice]

ESU Men are now 4-0 after scoring 107 against Gerorgian Court last night. The combination of veterans, freshmen and transfers are coming together at the right time. Jeff Wilson has 2 solid 5-man units. The interesting thing is the 2nd unit is currently outscoring the first unit. Lock Haven transfer Kevin Coleman is a perfect fit for the Warriors, providing scoring and rebounding as well as good rim defense. Ethan Maynard comes from Bloomfield and provides ball handling and scoring in the backcourt. Guard Ethan Millirons is hot at the arc right now, and fellow guard Freshman Keni Williams give that second unit scoring punch and great defense. Big men Carson Howard and Freshman Adrian Brito compliment each other very well in that second unit frontcourt. Jalen Pichardo's rebounding and defense are one key to their success and his leadership is invaluable. This team looks poised to make a deep playoff run. Can't wait for the conference schedule to get started.

[TheBigCat2192]

BU finally picked up a win against one of the PSU-In The Red campuses 86-45 in front of an astounding 168 spectators. They double dip against a different branch campus on Sunday before heading up to New York to play a game against St. Bonaventure that neither side has listed as an exhibition (yet). If BU could play more teams like PSU-Circling The Drain they might be a contender.