Shoats’ career night leads Bald Eagles past Roberts Wesleyan on home-opener
LOCK HAVEN, PA – Justice Shoats (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./Holy Redeemer) finished with career highs in points, assists and steals to lead the Lock Haven basketball team to an 87-73 victory over Roberts Wesleyan in its home-opener inside Thomas Fieldhouse in non-conference action on Thursday.
Shoats poured in a game-high 31 points on an efficient 11-of-16 shooting from the field, while going 8-of-10 at the line. The Bald Eagles’ starting point guard also dished out eight assists, pulled in six rebounds and plucked seven steals on his big night.
Shoats’ seven steals finished just one shy of the Bald Eagles’ single-game record of eight as he now sits in a tie for second all-time.
In his Lock Haven debut in front of an electric crowd, the local kid Collin Jones (Lock Haven, Pa./Central Mountain) had another slam dunk game off the bench, finishing with a season-high 23 points on 10-of-12 shooting to go with five rebounds and two steals.
Isaiah Stewart (Madison, Wis./Madison La Follette) rounded out the Bald Eagles in double figures as he finished with 12 points and six rebounds. Jalen Gorham (York, Pa./MacDuffie School) added a team-high nine rebounds, three steals and four assists. Bryson Scott (Dacula, Ga./Penfield) added nine points and Dyson Harward (Danville, Pa./Danville Area) added eight (2-of-3 from three).
The Bald Eagles scored over 80 points for their second straight game as they shot 51 percent (31-of-61) for the game and made a season-high 20 shots at the charity stripe.
Lock Haven continues to use its defense to lead to offense as it finished with a plus-eight in turnover margin which lead to a 32-16 advantage in points off turnovers.
The Bald Eagles, who came out of the break with a 44-31 lead, built the advantage to as much as 25 before Roberts Wesleyan began to mount a comeback.
However, leading 75-69 with 3:07 to go, the Bald Eagles erupted on a 12-4 run over the final three minutes to put the game away.
In the first half, Jones led the way with 17 points off the bench to lead The Haven.
The Bald Eagles are off for Thanksgiving break before returning to the court on Friday (Dec. 1) at 5 p.m. for their Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) opener in an East-West crossover contest against Pitt-Johnstown.
