MIDDLETOWN, Pa. - Penn State Harrisburg's men's basketball team withstood a hot-shooting first half from Messiah, clamped down defensively after the break, and pulled away down the stretch during an 80-73 victory at the Capital Union Building on Tuesday night, Nov. 21.
Donyae Baylor-Carroll came to life in crunch time and finished with a game-high 22 points to surpass the 1,500-point mark for his career, while Nate Curry recorded a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Lance Douglas was the third Penn State Harrisburg player to reach double figures with 10 points.
Messiah (1-4) shot a blistering 53.3 percent from beyond the arc in the first half and rode that pace to a lead as large as 40-26 with 3:17 remaining before the break. The Lions (5-1) got a spark from Malik Holland when he entered the game and promptly buried a 3-ball to cut the deficit to 11 before putting together a 7-0 run to end the half capped by another Holland triple that drew the home team to within six at 43-37 at halftime.
After the Falcons opened the second half with another 3-pointer, Penn State Harrisburg pulled to within two points thanks to a 9-2 run that included seven points from Baylor-Carroll and a Curry layup off a Douglas assist.
The Lions eventually drew even following a pair of Curry free throws at the 13:06 mark, Douglas put them ahead for the first time since the opening minutes with a layup off a find from Chase Robinson, and Baylor-Carroll knocked down a long jumper to make it 58-54 with 11:26 left to play.
Messiah burned a timeout and used an ensuing 9-2 run to pull back ahead but Baylor-Carroll responded with a turnaround jumper, a straightaway 3-ball, and a layup through contact to put the home team out in front 70-63 with 4:51 remaining. Robinson added a layup and Curry connected on a baseline jumper to stretch the advantage to eight with less than two minutes to play. The Falcons tried to play catch up but Penn State Harrisburg converted four free throws in the final seconds to close it out.
NOTABLES
- After Messiah shot 53.3 percent (8-of-15) from 3-point range in the first half, the Lions held the visitors to 25 percent shooting (4-for-16) from distance in the second half.
- Penn State Harrisburg shot 19-for-26 from the foul line, compared to just 7-of-12 from the charity stripe by the Falcons.
- The visitors won the rebounding battle 38-32.
- The victory for the Lions evened the all-time series between the two programs at 5-5.
- Baylor-Carroll netted a game-high 22 points to go along with six steals and four assists. With his point total, he surpassed the 1,500-point mark for his career.
- Curry, the reigning United East Offensive Player of the Week, recorded his second double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds. He also had four assists and a pair of steals.
- Douglas netted 10 points on 50 percent shooting.
- Alex Leiba worked around foul trouble to finish with nine points, two blocks, and three rebounds.
- Robinson tallied eight points, five rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
- Malachi Thomas was strong off the bench, finishing with five points and seven rebounds.
WHO'S NEXT?
The Lions get a week off before beginning conference play at United East foe Penn College on Tuesday night, Nov. 28.
STAY CONNECTED
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