LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – With five seconds left in the game and the Bald Eagles trailing by one,
Matt Cerruti (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./Archbishop Wood) got an acrobatic layup to fall and it proved to be the difference, as the Lock Haven University men's basketball team (6-7, 5-5 PSAC) upset Shippensburg University (14-4, 8-2 PSAC), the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division's first-place team, 59-58.
Cerruti finished with 15 points and nine rebounds.
Christian Kelly (Phoenixville, Pa./Phoenixville) turned in another outstanding effort. He netted 19 points to go along with five rebounds, four steals, three assists and two blocks.
Jihad Barnes (Philadelphia/Philadelphia Electric Charter) added 11 points and career-high nine boards, and
Jesse McPherson (Philadelphia/Archbishop Wood) tallied 10 points.
Shippensburg, one of the premier teams in the PSAC East as of late, got off to a quick start and the Red Raiders led by as many as 14 in the first half.
With 6:45 left in the first half, Lock Haven trailed the Raiders, 27-13, but the Bald Eagles got back into the game with a big run.
Over the final 6:45 of the first half, LHU went on a 21-10 run. The big run to end the half helped Lock Haven cut into the lead. At halftime, the Bald Eagles trailed 37-34.
Lock Haven carried the momentum in the second and it kept LHU in the game.
'Cerruti took the game over late.'
A Cerruti jumper with 5:25 left in the game tied the game at 50-50. Cerruti was quickly at it again and a layup with 5:00 to play gave the Bald Eagles their first lead of the game.
Shippensburg didn't go away and with 1:31 left the visitors took a 58-55 lead. Cerruti was on the spot again and sunk a layup with 1:03 left to cut into the lead and make it 58-57 Ship.
With 30 seconds left, the Bald Eagle defense stood tall and forced a long three from Ship, before
Jaylen Washington (Frederick, Md./Tuscarora) grabbed the rebound. The defensive stand set up Cerruti for more final-second fireworks.
With just five seconds left, Cerruti drove into the paint and spun a layup in off the glass for the go-ahead basket, and eventual game-winner.
Tonight marked the first time in a 25-game span where Shippensburg was held under 60 points.
Lock Haven held Shippensburg to just a 25 percent shooting clip from the field in the second half. The Bald Eagles forced 12 turnovers for the game.
UP NEXT / SCHEDULE CHANGE:
The Bald Eagles will return to action Friday (Jan. 18) at 7:30 p.m. when they travel to West Chester. Please note, the Lock Haven – West Chester game was originally scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 19, but moved up a day to Friday, Jan. 18 because of the weather forecast over the weekend.
