NEW CONCORD, Ohio – La Roche men's basketball used a hug second half to erase a double digit halftime deficit to pick up its first win of the season over Muskingum, 67-60.
The first half was well in favor of the Muskies, scoring 11 seconds in and held the lead the remaining 19:49, as they never allowed La Roche to be any closer than three points in the early stage at 9-6.
An 11-2 run to make it 20-8 in favor of Muskingum at 13:25 would be countered by a 13-7 push by the Redhawks over the next 7:22, but the deficit would grow back up to as many as 14 and the Muskies held a 38-27 lead going into the locker room.
Out of the half, Muskingum pushed the lead to 15 in the first 1:21 of the second 20 minutes, and stuck in double digits until it was 48-37 with 14:04 remaining.
La Roche countered with a 7-0 run over the next 2:35 to trim he Muskies lead to 48-44, but Muskingum was doing just enough to still hold a 56-51 lead at 7:19 left.
With 6:10 remaining, freshman Bryce Epps would hit the lane for a layup to make it 56-53, starting what would be a 16-4 run for the Redhawks over that final 6:10 to pull of the comeback victory.
La Roche locked in defensively in that final stretch, holding the Muskies to just 2-for-10 shooting in that crucial point of the contest.
For the game, La Roche finished the night going 22-for-57 (38.6%) from the floor and 7-for-24 (29.2%) from three. From the foul line, the Redhawks capitalized on 16 of 18 attempts (88.9%).
On the other side, Muskingum finished 25-for-68 (36.8%) from the field, and 5-for-22 (22.7%) from deep, while going 5-for-10 (50%) from the foul line.
La Roche had three players in double figures, and was led by junior Joe Starzynski and Epps who both had 15 points.
Starzynski added eight rebounds, three assists and three steals to his stat line, while Epps chipped in five rebounds.
Senior Isaiah Thomas came through as well, scoring 11 points while ripping down seven rebounds.
The Redhawks conclude their four game road trip in just over a week, as they travel to Mt. Aloysius on Wednesday, Nov. 29 for the AMCC opener. Opening tip is scheduled for 7 p.m.