LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Despite four players in double figures and shooting north of 50% from the floor, the Lock Haven University men's basketball team's (11-13, 8-12 PSAC) late rally came up short as it fell to visiting West Chester University (16-9, 10-9 PSAC) by an 87-83 margin in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon in Thomas Fieldhouse.
The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for the Bald Eagles. Prior to the game, the Bald Eagles honored their three seniors: MarkAnthony Fidelis, Jesse McPherson and Noah Wilson.
Lock Haven took the early advantage off of a DaQuan Granberry (Linwood, Pa./Chichester) layup but West Chester responded with an 8-0 run to take the lead.
Trailing by a 13-6 margin in the opening minutes, Lock Haven responded with a run of its own to regain the lead. Eli Washington (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) sparked a 9-0 run with a jumper from three-point range and Granberry capped the run off with a layup as the Bald Eagles took a 15-13 lead with 12:49 to play in the first half.
Over the remainder of the opening frame both teams traded scores with neither team leading by more than five points, but it was West Chester taking a 43-39 lead into the halftime break.
West Chester opened the second half on a 9-3 spurt to push its lead to double figures at a 52-42 tally with 16:36 to play. MarkAnthony Fidelis (Largo, Md./DeMatha) later powered in a slam and drilled a three-pointer to trim the gap to four at a 57-53 margin.
With 4:21 to play in the contest, West Chester's lead stood at an 80-67 margin but the Bald Eagles fought back in the waning minutes. Dymir Montague (Philadelphia, Pa./Neumann-Goretti) netted a pair of layups before Fidelis added a pair of quick scores to cut the deficit to six with less than two minutes to play.
Lock Haven elected to send West Chester to the charity stripe in an effort to extend the contest and LHU head coach Mike Nestor's decision allowed the Bald Eagles to pull to within a single score in the final seconds. Montague knocked down the front-end of a one-and-one with three ticks remaining before missing the second shot, but the Bald Eagles couldn't secure the offensive rebound as West Chester converted a pair of free throws at the other end to close out an 87-83 victory.
Fidelis and Washington led four scorers in double figures for the Bald Eagles with 19 points each. Montague chipped in 18 points while Granberry posted a 16-point afternoon.
Up Next:
The Bald Eagles return to Thomas Fieldhouse for the final time in the 2021-22 campaign on Monday, February 21 when they host East Stroudsburg. That matchup is set to tipoff at 7:00 p.m.
