First-place LHU Men’s Basketball wins eighth straight game, downs Shippensburg on the road
SHIPPENSBURG– Behind double-doubles by Justice Shoats (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./Holy Redeemer) and Dyson Harward (Danville, Pa./Danville Area) the Lock Haven men’s basketball traveled to Shippensburg University and came away with a hard-fought 72-71 victory in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) action on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 27).
The Bald Eagles extend their winning streak to eight games, dating back to Dec. 19 at No. 13 Cal (Pa.). Lock Haven has not fallen in the new year and are a perfect 6-0 against the PSAC East.
With just two games remaining in the first half of the Eastern Division schedule, the Bald Eagles remain in a tie for first place in the East as they improve to 12-5 overall and 10-2 in the East.
Lock Haven is tied with East Stroudsburg and Millersville for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Division. Lock Haven upset No. 11/8 East Stroudsburg on the road on Jan. 17 and will face Millersville for the first time this season on the road on Wednesday (Jan. 31).
The Bald Eagles also improve their road record to 6-3 on the season. Shippensburg falls to 5-13 overall and 2-11 in the PSAC.
Shoats powered the offense with a 22-point, 10 rebound double-double, adding five assists, while going 10-of-12 at the charity stripe.
Harward also finished with a double-double, cleaning up the glass with 12 rebounds to go with 15 points. Harward filled up the stat sheet in just 26 minutes of action.
Bryson Scott (Rochester, N.Y./Penfield) was a major spark off the bench as he netted 14 points and pulled in seven rebounds. Scott also knocked down all five of his free throws.
Lock Haven won the free throw battle by knocking down eight more free throws than the Raiders. The Bald Eagles finished over 85 percent at the foul line, knocking down 18-of-21 attempts.
Lock Haven has benefited from a strong second unit throughout the winning streak and outscored the Raiders by ten this afternoon.
In the first half, the teams traded blows for 20 minutes before a jumper with 35 seconds remaining gave Shippensburg a 34-32 lead heading into the break.
Ship led by as much as seven in the first half, but a 7-0 Bald Eagles’ run late in the half sparked knotted the game at 30-30 to keep Lock Haven within striking distance before taking charge in the second half.
The Bald Eagles got their offense going in the second half and after back-to-back three-pointers by Isaiah Stewart (Madison, Wis./Madison La Follette) and Mike Knouse (Horsham, Pa./Archbishop Wood), led 39-37 just under the 19-minute mark.
Ship regained the lead two minutes later, but back-to-back triples by Harward put the Bald Eagles back on top, 44-31, with 15:29 to go.
Lock Haven never trailed from that point and extended its lead to 63-52 off the third trifecta of the half by Harward with 4:33 remaining.
Shippensburg made things interesting by closing out the final 1:30 by erupting on an 14-6 run, but the clock was no longer on the side and the Bald Eagles closed out the victory.
NEXT UP
The Bald Eagles conclude their first half schedule against the PSAC East next week, starting with a showdown against Bloomsburg inside Thomas Fieldhouse at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 26.
