LHU Men’s Hoops grinds out victory vs. Wilmington (Del.)
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – The Lock Haven men’s basketball team blocked a season-high 10 shots and dominated the glass to grind out a 74-66 victory over Wilmington (Del.) in a non-conference battle on Monday night (Nov. 25) inside Thomas Fieldhouse.
With the victory, Lock Haven is now 2-0 at home and improves to 3-5 on the season. Wilmington falls to 1-5 overall.
The Haven’s toughness inside sparked the second-half comeback, as the Bald Eagles finished with a 21-10 advantage in second-chance points, 34-26 nod in paint points and a season-high 10 blocks.
The Bald Eagles also excelled in transition and finished with a 19-8 advantage in fast-break points.
Gabe Springer and Kevin Coleman provided a powerful one-two punch inside that ultimately proved to be the difference.
Springer grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds, including four on the offensive end, while adding two blocks. Coleman provided a huge spark off the bench and led the defense with a game-high four blocks, while also pulling in seven rebounds.
Eli Washington led three Bald Eagles in double figures as he dropped 16 points, dished out five assists and plucked three steals.
Blake Deegan did a little bit of everything in his best game to-date as a Bald Eagle and finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and two steals. Deegan also knocked down a team-high three shots from deep.
Isaiah Stewart added 15 points, five rebounds and two steals.
Trailing 34-27 under a minute into the second half, The Haven completely flipped the script and went on to outscore the Wildcats 34-19 over the ensuing 10 minutes to build a double-digit lead for the first time on the night.
After knocking down just two triples in the first half, The Haven knocked down 5-of-9 shots from deep during the run, while holding Wilmington’s offense to just 7-of-19 shots from the field.
However, Wilmington caught fire from behind the arch and eventually cut the deficit to three (69-66) with just over one-minute remaining.
Lock Haven responded and did not allow another point from there and finished the game on a 5-0 run to seal the victory.
In the first half, a slow start shooting for Lock Haven allowed the Wildcats to jump out to a 31-27 advantage heading into the break. The Haven shot just 29 percent from the floor in the half, but led 11-7 in second-chance points to remain in striking distance.
Prior to the game, Washington was honored for reaching the 1000-point milestone for his career. Washington became the 22nd player in program history to reach the century mark for career points during the Bald Eagles road contest at UPJ on Friday.
NEXT UP
Monday night marked the end of the non-conference schedule for Lock Haven, who kicked off its Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) 2024-25 slate last weekend.
The Bald Eagles will take a short break for Thanksgiving before returning to the court on Friday (Dec. 6) to host Clarion in a PSAC East vs. West crossover battle.
