KUTZTOWN — A fast start was not enough for the Lock Haven men’s basketball team, as the Bald Eagles fell, 70-61, at Kutztown in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East action Saturday afternoon.

Lock Haven raced out to a 35-23 halftime lead behind 45% shooting from the field and a 7 of 16 effort from 3-point range, building as much as a 19-point advantage late in the opening half.

Kutztown, however, flipped the script after the break, outscoring Lock Haven 47-26 in the second half while shooting 57 percent from the floor and 46 percent from beyond the arc over the final 20 minutes.

Blake Deegan paced Lock Haven with a team-high 18 points on 6 of 8 shooting, all from 3-point range and added four rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench.

Dean Coleman-Newsome joined him in double figures with 12 points and a game-high six assists, while Dyllon Scott and Keith Warren chipped in 10 points apiece; Scott also grabbed a team-best seven rebounds and Warren finished with six boards and four assists.

Lock Haven finished 24 of 57 (42%) from the field and an efficient 11 of 27 (41%) from 3-point territory, but the Bald Eagles were limited to just two free-throw attempts on the afternoon.

Kutztown held a 30-18 scoring edge in the paint and turned 15 second-half free-throw attempts into 14 points overall at the stripe, ending the day 14 of 16 (88%).

With the loss, Lock Haven moved to 5-9 overall and 1-6 in conference action. Kutztown improved to 4-7, 1-5 PSAC.

Kutztown 70, Lock Haven 61

LOCK HAVEN (3-9, 1-6 PSAC)

Dean Coleman-Newsome 5-16 0-0 12, Dyllon Scott 5-9 0-0 10, Keith Warren 3-9 2-2 10, Luke Kennevan 2-7 0-0 4, Mike Knouse 1-4 0-0 2, Blake Deegan 6-8 0-0 18, Devon Nelson 2-3 0-0 5, Mike Green 0-1 0-0 0, Chris Cornish 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-57 2-2 61.

KUTZTON (4-7, 1-5 PSAC)

Jalen Bryant 7-20 3-3 21, Jordan Nkoa Abessolo 6-9 3-3 16, Yahmir Satterfield 4-9 2-3 13, Omari Banks 6-14 1-2 13, Josh McKoy 0-3 2-2 2, Kidd Brizek 1-3 3-3 5, Jayden Robinson 0-0 0-0 0, Tanner Zawada 0-1 0-0 0, Amon Fowlkes 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-59 14-16 70.

Halftime LHU 35-23. 3-point goals: LHU 11-27 (Deegan 6-8, Warren 2-5, Coleman-Newsome 2-6, Nelson 1-1, Green 0-1, Kennevan 0-1, Scott 0-2, Knouse 0-3), KU 8-24 (Bryant 4-10, Satterfield 3-6, Nkoa Abessolo 1-2, Zawada 0-1, Banks 0-1, McKoy 0-2, Brizek 0-2). Fouled out: LHU-none; KU-none. Rebounds: LHU 35 (Kennevan 9), KU 35 (Nkoa Abessolo 9, Banks 9). Assists: LHU 14 (Coleman-Newsome 6), KU 10 (Banks 6). Technical fouls: LHU-Coleman-Newsome; KU-none. Total fouls: LHU 16, KU 10. A: 162.