LHU Men’s Basketball upsets No. 11/8 ESU on the road, wins fifth straight
EAST STROUDSBURG– In a game that went down to the wire, the Lock Haven men’s basketball team went on the road to secure a 75-70 upset victory over No. 11/8 East Stroudsburg in a hard-fought Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) battle on Wednesday night (Jan. 17).
The Bald Eagles won their fifth straight game this season to improve to 9-5 overall and 7-2 in the PSAC. The Haven also improves to 5-3 on the road.
With the victory, the Bald Eagles move into a tie with ESU and Millersville for first place in the PSAC East.
Entering Wednesday as the No. 11/8 team in the country, ESU falls to 12-2 overall and 7-2 in conference.
The Bald Eagles’ night started and ended with their defense as they held the top offense in the PSAC to 18 points below their season average.
Lock Haven, however, matched its season average with 75 points as they outshot the Warriors by 14 points at the charity stripe and knocked down nearly 40 percent of shots from behind the arch.
The Bald Eagles forced a game-high 17 turnovers while only committing 12 and held a slight advantage in fast-break points.
In a game that featured 21 lead changes and 11 ties, the Bald Eagles took a 69-67 lead with just over a minute remaining off a layup by Justice Shoats (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./Holy Redeemer).
The Bald Eagles would never relinquish the lead as Shoats and Isaiah Stewart (Madison, Wisc./Madison La Follette) combined for eight points, six at the charity stripe, to close out the upset win.
The Bald Eagles scored a game-high 43 points in the second half, led by a game-high 19 points by Shoats, who was instrumental on both ends of the court in the closing minute. Shoats did most of his damage at the foul line, knocking down 7-of-10 shots.
Jalen Gorham (York, Pa./MacDuffie School) notched his first double-double of the season with a season-high 11 rebounds and 12 points. Gorham dished out three assists and plucked two steals.
Stewart and Dyson Harward (Danville, Pa./Danville Area) finished with 13 points each. Stewart filled the stat sheet with five rebounds, three assists and a 5-of-8 mark at the free throw line.
Collin Jones (Lock Haven, Pa./Central Mountain) finished second on the team in scoring coming off the bench as he netted 14 points and pulled in three rebounds.
In the first half, the Bald Eagles went basket-for-basket with the run-and-gun Warriors offense and a three at the buzzer by Jones gave The Haven a 32-31 lead heading into the break. ESU held the largest lead of the half at seven, but the resilient Bald Eagles went blow-for-blow to close out the half, closing out the final six minutes on a 14-7 run.
Up Next:
The Bald Eagles return to Lock Haven on Saturday, Jan. 20 at 3 p.m. to host PSAC East foe Shepherd as part of Alumni Appreciation Day.
Lock Haven is currently 4-1 inside Thomas Fieldhouse.
