LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Freshman Justice Smith finished with a dominate 27-point, 11-rebound to power the Mansfield University men's basketball team to a first-half advantage, but Lock Haven University flipped the script in the second half to escape their home gym with a 73-71 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) victory on Wednesday night, Feb. 9.

The Mounties (4-18, 3-13 PSAC) built a 36-29 lead through the first 20 minutes, however, the Bald Eagles (8-12, 5-11 PSAC) stormed out of the gates in the second half on a 9-2 run to knot things at 38 with 17:58 remaining.
The game was deadlocked two more times over the next three minutes before Smith went on a solo 6-0 run to regain the Mounties' lead, 47-43.

A layup by Friend gave the Mounties a 51-46 lead at the 12:32 mark, but momentum began to switch in the Bald Eagles' favor as they erupted on a 16-0 run over the next 4:27 to take their largest lead of the night, 62-51 with 7:47 to go.

Smith ended the four-minute drought off an assist from Friend and followed it up with a dunk off a pass from senior Eli Alvin to trim the deficit back to seven, 62-55.

Smith continued to carry the offense, scoring the next five Mountaineer points before a step-back from Friend made it a one-score game, 64-62 in favor of LHU with 3:23 remaining.

LHU scored on their next possession before both teams traded consecutive baskets from behind the arc, before sophomore Jaz Farrell notched his 18^th-point with a triple to cut the Mountie deficit to 69-68 with just over two minutes remaining.

Lock Haven scored four straight before Friend drilled a clutch trifecta to cut the LHU lead to 73-71 with 40 seconds remaining.

However, that was the game's final points as the LHU defense stiffened and got the final stop to seal the victory.

Smith continued his recent tear on offense, finishing with a game-high 27 points on 10-of-22 shooting, while securing a double-double with 11 rebounds. Friend filled up the box score with 11 points, four rebounds, a team-high seven assists, a block and a steal. Farrell knocked down 4-of-8 shots from deep, totaling 18 points to go with seven rebounds. Alvin added seven points and two assists, while freshman Manir Waller pulled in eight rebounds off the bench.

For LHU, MarkAnthony Fidelis lead four Bald Eagles' in double figures, finishing with 19 points after drilling 4-of-6 3-pointers.

The Mountaineers knocked down three more trifectas and four additional foul shots than the Bald Eagles in the first half, but LHU shot a cool 50 percent (16-of-32) from the floor in the second period while the Mounties slipped to 38 percent (14-of-37).

The Mounties host Millersville inside Decker Gymnasium beginning at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 12. The contest will serve as the Mountaineers Play4Kay game and fans are encouraged to wear pink. More details on the event to be released tomorrow.