York, Pa. – The Penn State Harrisburg men's basketball team has had a rough road to travel this season. Many would argue that the rough travels began with York's 59-58 OT win at Penn Stare Harrisburg to start the conference season off. After returning the favor Wednesday January 28th winning 65-57, the Blue and White hope to use the momentum to finish the final third of the season on a different track.
The Lions got off to a tremendous first half start by taking a 14-2 lead in the first five minutes of the game. Alberto De Los Santos (East Pennsboro, Pa. / East Pennsboro) made an early impact by draining two three pointers in the early run. York responded quickly with a 12-2 run of their own to keep the game tight. By halftime the Spartans had brought the game within a bucket, 28-26.
Harrisburg regained the momentum by starting the second half on a 6-0 run. The Spartans again bounced back and brought the score dead even at 44 with 10:51 left to play. Thankfully, the tie score was as close as the Spartans would get. The Lions finished the game with poise, playing as a strong unit on both ends of the floor. Their teamwork combined with York's 30 turnovers helped pave the way for the Lions 3rd conference win of the year 64-57.
The Blue and White had six players score between eight and the team leading 12 points by Arick Sodini (Manalapan, Nj. / St. John Vianney). Senior leader De Los Santos had a season high seven assists while Joey Farthing (Lancaster, Pa. / Hempfield) added 10 points including a two handed slam in the final minutes.
"I thought our kids focus to start the game was terrific. We played with good rhythm and our guys took shots where they could be effective. I'm very proud of how our kids kept their poise when York made their runs." Head Coach Don Friday continued with "we've stayed positive and keep stressing embrace the process. They deserved this win tonight and I want them to feel good about themselves and PSU basketball."
The Lions still have plenty of work in front of them as they are two games back from being in the playoff mix. Penn State Harrisburg will next host St. Mary's (Md.) Saturday January 31st at 3:00 pm.