LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – The Lock Haven University men's basketball team soared past West Chester, 81-75 tonight on PSECU Court at Thomas Fieldhouse.
 
Four players scored in double-figures for Lock Haven (1-4, 1-1 PSAC), led by Wali Hepburn's (Philadelphia/Neumann-Goretti) 26 points.
 
Hepburn, the reigning PSAC East Player of the Year, filled up the stat sheet tonight.  To go along with his game-high 26 points, Hepburn added eight rebounds, six assists and five steals.
 
West Chester (3-4, 2-1 PSAC) was led by Matt Wisley, who scored 17 points.
 
The Bald Eagles played excellent on both ends of the floor in the first half and led, 36-29 at the break.  The Haven held the Rams to just 37.1% (13-of-35) from the field and 8.3% (1-for-12) from three.
 
LHU hit five threes in the opening period, including two each from Hepburn and Al Blount (Northampton, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic).
 
Hepburn finished with 10 points, five rebounds and four assists in the opening period.
 
The Bald Eagles grabbed its largest lead of the game with 17:07 to play in the second half when Theo West (Philadelphia/Kensington) converted a layup to put The Haven ahead by 15, 48-33.
 
West Chester answered however, as the Rams mounted a, 16-3 run over the next 3:39 to cut the Bald Eagle lead to just two, 51-49 with 13:28 to play.
 
Lock Haven, with the support of a raucous home crowd, never relinquished the lead to West Chester, closing out the Rams to seal The Haven's first win of the year.
 
Hepburn's game-high 26 points came on 6-of-10 shooting from the field and 12-of-15 from the free throw line.
 
Blount finished with 12 points and a game-high three three-pointers.  He added two assists and was key in breaking down West Chester's full court press.
 
West was solid down low, tallying 11 points, eight rebounds and he blocked four shots in the win.
 
Nate Walters (Reedsville, Pa./Indian Valley) was huge in the second half for LHU.  He scored seven of his 11 points and pulled down all five of his rebounds in the final period.
 
Bootsie Walker (Chester, Pa./Chester) scored eight points, grabbed five rebounds and blocked three shots on the night.
 
The Bald Eagles forced 26 turnovers in the game, the most in any game so far this season.
 
Eric Frans, Parrish Grant and Cory Blake scored 15, 13, and 11 points, respectively for West Chester
 
Lock Haven returns to action on Saturday (December 6) when the Bald Eagles travel to Mansfield for a PSAC matchup.  Tipoff is set for 3 p.m.
 
HTML Box Score