Box Score LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – The Lock Haven University men's basketball team (0-1) dropped a tough, 78-76 contest tonight to Davis & Elkins (2-1) in the 2013 season opener.

Bootsie Walker (Chester, Pa./Chester) had an outstanding debut for The Haven.  He filled up the stat sheet with a game-high 19 points, pulled down eight rebounds, dished out six assists and tallied four steals.

Wali Hepburn (Philadelphia, Pa./Neumann-Goretti), LHU's leading scorer from last year, scored 17 points and grabbed 10 boards on the night.

A physical first half led to both teams dealing with foul trouble and the Senators held a, 37-32 halftime advantage.

The Bald Eagles quickly erased the five-point halftime deficit as LHU opened the second half with a, 20-8 run and took a, 52-45 lead at with 13:07 to play.

The two teams battled back-and-forth throughout the final minutes.  Trailing by two with 44 seconds to play, LHU locked down on defense and Kasheef Festus (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) came up with a huge steal, giving Lock Haven possession with six seconds remaining.  The Bald Eagles got a good look at the buzzer, but a potential game-winning three-pointer came up just short.

Festus finished the night with 11 points and five rebounds.

Julian Bond (Philadelphia, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) scored 10 points off of the bench for LHU.

Nate Walters (Reedsville, Pa./Indian Valley) and Al Blount Jr. (Northampton, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic) scored eight and six points, respectively.

Davis & Elkins shot 52.4% (11-21) on three-pointers on the night, led by Wesley Sprinkle and Tivius Guthrie, who hit four three's each.

Sprinkle led the Senators with 18 points in the game.

Lock Haven returns to action Saturday (Nov. 16) when the Bald Eagles travel to NYACK College in The Haven's first road test of 2013.  Tipoff on Saturday is scheduled for 3 p.m.

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Game Notes:
Today marked Lock Haven's 2013 season opener…Wali Hepburn, who is the PSAC's leading returning scorer from last season, scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds…Hepburn made 13 free throws in the game…Bootsie Walker scored a game-high 19 points in his LHU debut…The Bald Eagles committed just eight turnovers in the game and forced 19 Senator turnovers…LHU had 14 steals in the game.