LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – The Lock Haven men's basketball team returned to action today (Saturday, Dec. 30) at home and capped the 2023 portion of the season's schedule with a thrilling, 73-66, comeback-win over Slippery Rock (3-7, 2-3 PSAC) in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) crossover action.
 
The Bald Eagles trailed at halftime, but surged in the second half behind 23 total points from Jalen Gorham (York, Pa./MacDuffie School). The 23 points were a game-high, and new career-high for Gorham who netted four 3-pointers.
 
With the win, Lock Haven leveled its overall record at 5-5 and moved to 3-2 in PSAC action. The Bald Eagles are now 3-1 at home this season.
 
Justice Shoats (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./Holy Redeemer) netted 19 points and Isaiah Stewart (Madison, Wisc./Madison La Follette) added 11. Stewart scored three (3-of-4) from downtown and The Haven knocked down 10-of-21 total 3-pointers on the day.
 
Stewart added five rebounds and five assists in an all-around strong effort.
 
Mike Knouse (Horsham, Pa./Archbishop Wood) hit from 3-point range twice and finished with eight points.
 
Gorham and Shoats each finished with eight rebounds. The two were simply outstanding today as Gorham finished with five steals and Shoats directed the offense with seven assists.
 
Overall, Lock Haven shot 48 percent from 3-point range after knocking down 10 total trifectas in the win.
 
The Lock Haven defense forced 19 Slippery Rock turnovers and the Bald Eagles took advantage, scoring 15 points off those turnovers.
 
Prior to today, Lock Haven was last in action 11 days ago on December 19 when the Bald Eagles fell to nationally-ranked California (Pa.) in PSAC play, but The Haven bounced back today in a big way.
 
Up Next:
Today's home game marked the final competition of the 2023 calendar year for the Bald Eagles who will kick off the new year on Wednesday, Jan. 3 at Clarion at 7:30 p.m. The full 2023-24 Lock Haven men's basketball schedule is available at GoLHU.com.