SELINSGROVE, Pa. - After dropping its first game of the season the night prior, Penn State Harrisburg's men's basketball team bounced back in a big way with a convincing 78-53 victory over Cabrini on the final day of the National Beef Susquehanna Tip-Off Tournament at SU's Orlando W. Houts Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon, Nov. 18.
Nate Curry led the way with a game-high 19 points and seven rebounds, while Chase Robinson netted a season-high 14 points. Alex Leiba finished with 11 points and seven boards, while Donyae Baylor-Carroll dished out a game-high six assists to go along with six points.
Penn State Harrisburg (4-1) used a balanced attack to pull away from the Cavaliers (0-5) in the second half after holding a double-digit advantage at the break.
Leiba opened the second half with back-to-back layups and Robinson knocked down a jumper to stretch the lead to 44-28 at the 17:48 mark. The next time down the floor, Baylor-Carroll found Leiba with a pretty no-look pass that the big man hammered home with a two-handed dunk to push the advantage to 18 with 17:12 left to play.
Cabrini pulled to within 13 points with little more than 10 minutes remaining but the Lions had the answer, reeling off eight straight points to go up by 20-plus for the first time with 8:27 left. Isaiah Eggleston scored five in a row and Curry followed up a baseline jumper with a 3-ball with four minutes remaining to effectively put things out of reach for good.
NOTABLES
- Saturday's contest was the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
- The Lions shot 62 percent from the floor and held Cabrini to just 35.8 percent shooting.
- Penn State Harrisburg dominated on the glass, winning the rebounding battle 38-19.
- The Lions scored 40 points in the paint.
- Curry finished with 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting, seven rebounds, and three steals. He was named to the all-tournament team for his efforts.
- Robinson tallied 14 points, four rebounds, and a pair of assists.
- Leiba netted 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting and grabbed seven boards.
- Baylor-Carroll racked up six assists to go along with six points.
- Eggelston and Dylan Moore added seven points apiece off the bench.
- Isaiah Milien chipped in with five points and four steals in a reserve role.
WHO'S NEXT?
The Lions return to action when they host Messiah at the Capital Union Building on Tuesday night.
STAY CONNECTED
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