KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Lock Haven men's basketball team erased a 17-point deficit to defeat Kutztown on the road, 75-68, in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) battle on Wednesday night (Feb. 5).
The Bald Eagles have won four of their last five games and improve to 11-10 on the season and 8-7 in the PSAC. Lock Haven is currently in fifth place in the PSAC East and is tied in the win column with fourth-place Millersville, while holding a three-game lead over sixth-place Mansfield. The Haven secured a 2-0 sweep over Kutztown this season.
For the Golden Bears, the loss brings them to 3-12 in conference and 7-15 overall.
Kevin Coleman led the Bald Eagles with 14 points (6-of-8) and five rebounds, while adding one block and a steal.
Isaiah Stewart was one of three Bald Eagles to knock down a pair of trifectas, as he finished with 12 points, three assists and two steals.
Dyllon Scott and
LaQuan Byrd led the second unit with 11 points, respectively. Scott finished with four rebounds, while Byrd knocked down 3-of-4 shots from behind the arch.
Blake Deegan knocked down a pair of threes and
Eli Washington pulled in a team-high six rebounds to round out the starting five.
Idris Ali also provided quality minutes off the bench and finished with five points, five rebounds and two assists.
In the first half, Kutztown shot 50 percent (14-of-27) from the floor and held Lock Haven to 30 percent (10-of-33) to build a 38-23 lead heading into the break.
KU extended its lead to 17 early in the second half, but The Haven slowly started to chip away, before trimming its deficit to single-digits, 51-42, following a trifecta by Stewart with 11:31 to go.
The Golden Bears regained a double-digit advantage four more times over the ensuing four minutes, but back-to-back triples by Ali and Byrd cut the deficit to 61-58 with 5:17 remaining.
Byrd's third three-pointer of the night and a Stewart layup knotted the score at 65-65, before Coleman buried a layup to give Lock Haven a 68-67 advantage, their first lead since early in the first half.
Coleman scored six straight points and Ali went 2-of-2 at the charity stripe down the stretch to secure the come-from-behind victory for Lock Haven.
Lock Haven shot 55 percent from the floor and knocked down seven three-pointers to outscore Kutztown, 52-30, in the second half.
Next up for The Haven:
The Bald Eagles remain on the road and will visit Shippensburg for a 3 p.m. PSAC game on Saturday, Feb. 8.
