LHU Men’s Basketball edged on the road at Millersville, remain in heated battle atop PSAC East
LOCK HAVEN– The Lock Haven men’s basketball team attempted a furious comeback late in the second half to climb within one possession in the closing seconds, but Millersville hung on to secure a 91-87 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) victory in a heated Eastern Division clash on Wednesday night (Jan. 31).
The Bald Eagles remain in the midst of an historic run of basketball as tonight was the lone defeat for The Haven through the first half of its PSAC East schedule. Lock Haven started Eastern Division action a perfect 7-0 and were winners of nine straight games dating back to Dec. 19.
The consecutive-victory streak was the longest for the Bald Eagles since winning 10 in a row in 1989-90.
Despite the loss, the Bald Eagles are in a strong position in the PSAC postseason race and slide into a tie for second place in the PSAC East with Millersville with eight games remaining.
Lock Haven (13-6 overall) and Millersville (16-4 overall) both move to 11-3 in conference.
Justice Shoats (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./Holy Redeemer) scored over 20 points for the fourth consecutive game as he poured in 25 points to go with five rebounds, four steals and a team-high six steals.
Collin Jones (Lock Haven, Pa./Central Mountain) ignited the second unit which sparked the comeback attempt as he netted 18 points and didn’t miss a shot at the foul line (5-of-5).
Jalen Gorham (York, Pa./MacDuffie School) led the defense with a game-high six steals and rounded out the Bald Eagles in double figures with 11 points and seven rebounds.
Isaiah Stewart (Madison, Wisc./Madison La Follette) finished with 14 points and teamed up with Mike Knouse (Horsham, Pa./Archbishop Wood) to knock down five three-pointers.
Dyson Harward (Danville, Pa./Danville Area) added seven rebounds.
After digging a 10-point deficit heading into the break, the Bald Eagles turned to long-range shooting in the second half as they drilled six trifectas to the Marauders one to climb back into the game.
Facing a 14-point deficit at the midway point in the second half, The Haven erupted on a 16-2 run over the ensuing three minutes to knot the game at 71-71 with seven minutes to go.
Lock Haven made all four of its shots from the field during the run, while going a perfect 3-of-3 from behind the arch. The Bald Eagles also started to get to the free throw line, knocking down 6-of-9 attempts.
However, Millersville outscored Lock Haven 7-0 over the next minute to extend its lead back to 78-71.
The Marauders led by as much as nine over the final four minutes, but Lock Haven wouldn’t go away and a pair of triples by Gorham and Stewart trimmed the deficit to 89-87 with 17 seconds remaining.
Millersville, however, broke through the Bald Eagles press, resulting in a dunk at the other end to seal the victory.
Up Next:
The Bald Eagles are back in action on Saturday, Jan. 31 when they kick off their second set of PSAC East round robin games at West Chester University with tip-off at 3 p.m.
