LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – No win this season has looked easier for No. 1 seed Lock Haven than it did on Wednesday night when the Bald Eagles breezed past the No. 4 seeded West Chester Golden Rams, 100-76, in the quarterfinals of the PSAC Men’s Basketball Tournament.
This win marks the first time that the Lock Haven men will advance to the semifinals since 1990.
“Let’s give a shout out to the fans,” Lock Haven head coach Mike Nestor said. “It’s been so awesome the past couple weeks, the students, the community. Our women’s team is just crushing it and people are staying around for our game. The excitement in the gym is as good as it’s ever been since I’ve been here. They have been a huge part of it. It’s just so exciting for our program, and I’m so happy so many people get to enjoy it.”
The Bald Eagles were coming off a bye week after clinching the No. 1 seed in the PSAC East in a huge win over the Millersville Marauders. Despite this, there were some concerns going into the game on how well The Haven would match up versus the Golden Rams.
Enjoying the early part of this game was certainly a struggle for Haven Nation, as it seemed the lights may be too bright for the Bald Eagles. Everything was going wrong for the Bald Eagles. Missed shots, bad turnovers, and poor fouls plagued the team throughout the first few minutes as they fell behind early, 13-4.
Despite this, the Bald Eagles did not seem fazed, and were confident they would get out of the early first-half slump.
“I thought we got really good looks in the first half,” Nestor said, “I thought the energy in here [Thomas Fieldhouse] and our energy was maybe a bit too high and we kind of just calmed down a little bit. I thought we had really good looks that just didn’t connect. But I knew guys would make shots in the second half.”
The shots certainly connected for the Bald Eagles as they scored an incredible 66 points in the second half and grew a three-point halftime lead into a 24-point blowout victory.
For The Haven, it was guard Justice Shoats commanding the attack. Shoats finished with a game-high 27 points while dishing out 10 assists. Forwards Isaiah Stewart, Dyllon Scott, and Bryson Scott also finished with double-digit points for Lock Haven.
The Scott Brothers both had career days, stepping up and hitting massive clutch shots when the rest of the team struggled. After the game, both Bryson and Dylan seemed overjoyed with the team’s performance as well as their own.
“It feels great,” Bryson Scott said when asked about his 17-point performance. “As an individual, to put together a performance like that it’s just a testament to all the hard work we put in practice every single day.”
Lock Haven faced West Chester (WCU) twice this season, and while they did win both games, neither win inspired much confidence. The Bald Eagles won the first game by only one point, and the second by three.
Clinching the top seed certainly played an important role in the game, as the energy in Thomas Fieldhouse was as electric as ever, and certainly left a mark on Lock Haven’s team.
The Bald Eagles will need to continue putting in hard work as their toughest matchups are yet to come in these playoffs. Next up, Lock Haven will travel to Gannon University, as they will play host for the rest of the men’s side of the PSAC Playoffs.
The No. 1 seeded Bald Eagles will face off against the No. 2 seed California Pa. Vulcans on Saturday, March 9. Tip-off will take place at 12 p.m. at the Highmark Events Center.
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.
