SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Lock Haven University men's basketball team (11-11, 8-10 PSACE) shocked No. 24 Shippensburg University (20-5, 16-3 PSACE) 104-103 in double overtime on Saturday afternoon in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division thriller.
 
The win marked Lock Have's second win of the season over a nationally ranked opponent after also taking down then No. 12 West Chester on January 15.
 
In a critical late season PSAC matchup for the Bald Eagles, LHU came out strong and took a slender 37-35 lead into halftime. The second half continued to be hotly contested and neither side was able to stretch a lead larger than eight points.
 
Trailing with just 14 seconds remaining in regular time and their playoff hopes in the balance, the Bald Eagles turned to Matt Cerruti (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./Archbishop Wood) who nailed a clutch runner in the lane to knot the game at 85-85. After a huge defensive stand, the teams headed to the first of an eventual two overtime periods.
 
The Haven once again trailed late in the first overtime 91-89 with under a minute remaining. This time it was Christian Kelly (Phoenixville, Pa./Phoenixville) who answered the call driving to the cup and once more tying the game.
 
Kelly closed the game in the second overtime period scoring the final five points, including a critical and one sequence to push the Haven advantage to 104-101, and in the final seconds the Lock Haven defense stood tall one last time to push the Bald Eagles to a 104-103 victory.
 
Eli Washington led all LHU scorers to the season-high 104-point performance with 20 points on a perfect 7-7 from the field. Washington also led the Bald Eagles with eight rebounds. The 85 points the Haven scored in regulation were already the most points scored against Shippensburg all year long.
 
The offensive explosion saw all five starters for Lock Haven reach double figures in scoring as Jesse McPherson (Philadelphia/Archbishop Carrol), Kelly, Trevor Lecuona (Baltimore, Md./ Oakdale) and Cerruti all joined Washington in double figures.

McPherson knocked home 19 points along with two blocks, while Kelly racked up 18 points including five in the decisive second overtime. Lecuona notched 17 points on 7-10 from the field and Cerruti hit 16 clutch points and led the team handing out five assists.
 
Next Up:
 
Lock Haven will return to action on Wednesday, February 19 when they host Bloomsburg. That game is set to tipoff at 7:30 p.m.