Dec. 29, 2010
Erie, Pa. – For being so unfamiliar with each other, having never met on the hardwood before, Wayne State and East Stroudsburg (5-2) came into the first night of the 37th annual Porreco Cup on Wednesday, possessing a few similarities.
Each team was nicknamed the Warriors; both teams entered the contest with one loss and both were riding a multiple-game win streak.
However, after the final buzzer, the teams proved unequal and the scoring differential displayed that as WSU came away with an easy 82-63 victory over ESU. Wayne State (9-1) won its seventh straight and ended East Stroudsburg's three-game win streak.
The Warriors face tournament-host Gannon in the championship game tomorrow at 8:00 p.m.
Four Warriors scored in double-figures with
Ike Udanoh (Detroit, Mich./Warren Woods Tower) and
Bryan Coleman (Southfield, Mich./Lathrup) leading the way with 18 points apiece. Udanoh also finished with nine rebounds, while Coleman had the hot hand, shooting 7-of-9 from the field, including a perfect 4-for-4 from behind-the-arc.
Jerry Oden (Detroit, Mich./Cass Tech) scored 12 points and collected nine rebounds and
Gerald Williams-Taylor (Flint, Mich./Northern) had 10 points and six rebounds.
Wayne State closed East Stroudsburg out early in the second half, opening the first five minutes on a 16-5 run to take a commanding 59-38 lead with 15:05 left.
The lead was enough as East Stroudsburg never made it closer than 17 the rest of the way.
Coleman's back-to-back three-point baskets on consecutive trips pushed the WSU lead to 15 with 1:32 left before halftime. Unfortunately, ESU narrowed the margin to 10 after closing the half on a 5-0 run.
Falling behind 5-4 to start the game, WSU came roaring back with an 8-0 run capped by three-point basket from
Bryan Smothers (Pontiac, Mich./Northern) to take a 12-5 lead at the 15:47 mark.
Smothers struck again from behind-the-arc, pushing the Wayne State lead to 11 with 9:29 to play in the first half.
Following an East Stroudsburg free throw, a lay-up from Coleman gave WSU a 12-point lead, but a three-point bucket from Mike DeMarco climbed East Stroudsburg back within 10 with 7:55 left in the first 20 minutes.
From there, the teams traded buckets until Coleman and ESU put together their stretches before halftime.
