Mounties Can't Overcome Slow First Half in 83-72 Setback at Lock Haven

LOCK HAVEN – Thomas Moore, Matt Tamanosky and Joe Marshall scored 18, 17 and 16 points respectively but it wouldn't be enough to overcome a sluggish first half as Mansfield dropped a 83-72 decision at Lock Haven in a PSAC East matchup Tuesday evening.

Mansfield trailed 50-38 half and despite numerous second half runs, could not overcome Lock Haven's (6-2, 2-2 PSAC) first half lead.

Mansfield never got untracked in the first half trailing 13-8 after the first five minutes of the game and 26-18 midway through the first half after a dunk by MU's Balla Thiam.

Lock Haven would extend its lead to 35-21 on a free throw by Julian Bond with seven minutes remaining to intermission before Andreas Katopodis hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to single-digits less than two minutes later.

But Mansfield could draw not closer trailing 50-38 at halftime.

Senior Thomas Moore, the Mountaineers leading scorer, struggled in the first half missing his first four shots and turning the ball over five times before closing out the half with eight points.

Mansfield missed its first four shots in the second half before Joe Marshall hit a layup followed by a Matt Tamanosky layup seconds later to cut the lead to 52-43. Another Marshall layup made it a single-digit game at 52-44 three minutes into the half.

Mansfield continued to chip away, pulling to 59-54 on a jumper by Da'Quan Jones at the 12 minute mark. The Mountaineers still trailed by five points a minute later when Moore buried a 3-pointer but Mansfield missed its next seven shots allowing Lock Haven to extend its lead to 68-57 with just under eight minutes to play.

Mansfield would extend its missed shot streak to 11 straight but still just trailed 68-61 when Gerisimos Koutoufas hit a jumper with just under six minutes to go. Lock Haven would go on a late run taking a 79-62 lead with three minutes left before Mansfield closed out the game on a 10-4 run.

Lock Haven shot 51% from the floor, including 65% in the first half to Mansfield's 36% shooting for the game. The Mountaineers did hold a 46-36 rebounding advantage over the Bald Eagles.

Moore scored 10 of his team-high 18 points in the second half while Tamanosky just missed a double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds. Marshall, a freshman, pulled down a season-high eight rebounds in addition to his 16 points.

Brahieme Jackson and Al Blount each scored a game-high 18 points to lead four Bald Eagles in double-figures.

Mansfield falls to 2-6 overall and 0-4 in the PSAC. The Mountaineers will host Clarion on Saturday.