LHU Men’s Basketball wins thriller at Clarion, 66-65

CLARION – The Lock Haven men’s basketball kicked off the new year the same way it finished 2023 after battling from behind to down Clarion, 66-65, on the road in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) game on Wednesday night (Jan. 3).

With the victory, the Bald Eagles improve to 6-5 overall and 4-2 in the PSAC. Clarion falls to 5-7 overall and 3-3 in conference.

The Bald Eagles have made a theme of battling from behind in recent contests and found themselves in another crossover thriller that featured eight ties and five lead changes.

After trailing since the opening seconds from the first half, the Bald Eagles clawed their way back to tie the game at 65-65 with 49 seconds to go.

Following a timeout, Clarion had the ball with the chance to take the lead, but that is when Jalen Gorham (York, Pa./MacDuffie School) took over.

The senior forward had his hand in the final three possessions as he pulled in the defensive rebound, knocked down a free throw that put the Bald Eagles ahead 66-65, before plucking a steal as time expired to seal the Lock Haven victory.

Clarion dominated from 3-point land, knocking down 10 more triples than The Haven, but the Bald Eagles made up for the scoring by getting to the foul line all night long to hold a 19-2 point-advantage at the charity stripe.

Lock Haven also dominated down low and in transition, holding a 38-16 advantage in paint-points and 18-3 advantage in transition-points.

The second unit was instrumental in the comeback and were led by 15 points from Collin Jones (Lock Haven, Pa./Central Mountain) and several big plays down the stretch by Bryson Scott (Dacula, Ga./Penfield).

Justice Shoats (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./Holy Redeemer) led the scoring charge with a team-high 17 points, while leading the defense with a game-high six steals. Shoats now has five or more steals in four games.

Gorham added nine points and three steals and Dyson Harward (Danville, Pa./Danville Area) pulled in a team-high eight rebounds.

In the first half, Clarion dominated the battle from 3-point land, knocking down eight 3-pointers to the Bald Eagles one to lead 33-25 after 20 minutes. Lock Haven, however, kept in it by getting to the free throw line, knocking down 8-of-12 attempts, while Clarion went just 1-of-2.

Clarion continued to shoot well from deep in the second half and led by as much as 11 through the opening two minutes of the half.

However, The Haven battled back to cut the deficit to one score four times over the ensuing 13 minutes before knotting the score at 54-54 with 5:19 to go.

Clarion built the lead back up to five, but a five consecutive points from Jones tied the game at 62-62 with 2:15 on the clock.

Clarion drilled another triple on its next possession to regain the lead, but Scott went 1-of-2 at the line before netting a layup to tie the game once again, 65-65, setting up the exciting finish.

Up Next:

The Bald Eagles return home to host West Chester University at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 6 in a PSAC East showdown.