LOCK HAVEN Pa. – Lock Haven (16-6) upset the No. 7 nationally ranked East Stroudsburg Warriors (20-3) on Wednesday Feb. 14. The Bald Eagles held off a furious fourth quarter comeback, as they completed the series sweep. This win marks the first time in program history that Lock Haven has beaten a top 10 nationally ranked team twice in the same season.
With the 74-69 upset victory, the Bald Eagles enter a tie for first-place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East standings. Lock Haven, Millersville, and East Stroudsburg are in a three-way deadlock for first place. Beating ESU twice means The Haven hold the tiebreaker over the Warriors. If Lock Haven wins out, and beat the Millersville Marauders on Senior Day (Mar. 2), they would finish the season in first place.
Collin Jones led the way for the Bald Eagles, scoring 28 points and bringing in seven rebounds. Jones started on the bench, but due to his incredible play, remained in the game and played 34 minutes. Other key contributors were Justice Shoats, Dyson Harward, and Isaiah Stewart. Shoats finished with 19 points and shot an impressive 9-9 from the free throw line. While both Harward and Stewart did not fill the stat sheet as much as usual, their work on the defensive side of the ball was marvelous.
Lock Haven went into the half up 39-30, and impressively they held ESU’s Lakeem McAliley, who averages 17.5 points per game this year, to a goose egg in the first and only 7 points throughout the game.
Fouls were a big story of the match as by the final horn there were 44 total fouls, with each team committing over 20. McAliley totaled three fouls in the first and ended up fouling out with 4:56 to go in the second half. McAliley and teammate Jaelen McGlone each had five fouls. Meanwhile, Cam Young and Carson Howard finished with four fouls apiece for the Warriors. Lock Haven featured four separate players with four fouls.
Lock Haven struggled down the stretch, going on multiple cold shooting streaks and letting the Warriors back in the game in the second half. The Warriors outscored the Bald Eagles 39-35, closing within two points of the tie.
Lock Haven held off the warriors, as Shoats converted two huge free throws to put the game out of reach. In the biggest game of the season, the Bald Eagles rose to the challenge.
“We beat them earlier in the season, we knew they were coming for vengeance,” said Jones. “Being able to get another win, we knew getting another win would help us with playoff seeding, and now we are tied for the number one seed.”
UP NEXT:
Lock Haven will travel to Shepherd to take on the Rams. Tip-off is on Saturday Feb. 17 at 3 p.m.
Ryan States is in his 3rd year at Lock Haven University, and his second with the Eagle Eye. He is a Journalism major with intentions to minor in Sports Management. With his never-ending passion for all things sports, he wishes to pursue a career as a sports writer for a major outlet. When not watching sports, he can be found playing video games, hanging out with friends at the REC. Or you can find him helping out in the booth during LHU sporting events. His biggest hope while at Lock Haven is to be able to positively contribute to LHU sports in any way he can.
