Middletown, Pa.- Sunday November 15, this afternoon the Penn State Harrisburg men's basketball team defeated Lebanon Valley to win Harrisburg's Tip-Off Tournament presented by Hershey Park. Harrisburg led at half but the second half proved to be much closer up until the last ten seconds when Harrisburg hit a three pointer to win the game 61-60.
Throughout the first half both teams were very evenly matched. The biggest lead of the day for Harrisburg came in the ninth minute of play after Jazmon Harris (Baltimore, Md. / Patterson) made a lay up and pushed Harrisburg ahead 18-14. The Nittany Lions went on to dominate the rest of the first half and led going into halftime 30-27. At the half, Jourdon Wilson (Mechanicsburg, Pa. / Cumberland Valley) led with eight points while Arick Sodini (Manalapan, N.J. / St. John Vianney) and Austin Chimuma (Bowie, Md. / Annapolis Area Christian) each had six.
As the second half began, each team showed they wanted to win the tournament. Neither team had a large lead throughout the second half. With seven minutes left, senior Anthony Morgan (York, Pa. / New Hope Academy) fought to steal the ball from the Dutchmen. Morgan went on to make a lay up and put the Nittany Lions ahead 47-45 with seven minutes left. With less then a minute to go, Lebanon Valley was winning by two points. Wilson hit a bucket with 32 seconds left to bring Harrisburg two points behind the Dutchmen. Lebanon Valley was then awarded two foul shots with 20 seconds left to go. The Dutchmen missed both shots and Harrisburg stepped up to get the rebound. Sodini stepped up to take a three pointer off of a pass from Wilson and the last shot of the game, the crowd exploded as the ball sailed through the bucket. Penn State Harrisburg won the game and the tournament after defeating Lebanon Valley today and Rutgers Camden yesterday afternoon.
After the game, two Harrisburg players achieved awards for their performances throughout the tournament. Jasmon Harris made the all tournament team and teammate Arick Sodini was the tournament's most valuable player. The men will travel to Haverford on Wednesday November 18th for a non conference game. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 pm.
2015 Penn State Harrisburg Tip-off All Tournament Team
Roanoke - #1 Cameron Smith, #25 John Fritchett
Lebanon Valley - #20 Travis Conrad; #22 Andrew Orr
Penn State Harrisburg - #23 Jazmon Harris
Tournament MVP – Penn State Harrisburg's Arick Sodini.
