Salisbury, Md.- Wednesday December 9th, this evening the Penn State Harrisburg men's basketball team faced No. 21 Salisbury. The men played well both offensively and defensively in the first half and second half. Both teams were tied at the end of regulation and Penn State Harrisburg went on to defeat Salisbury, 66-63 after one overtime period.
Penn State Harrisburg dominated the first half due to several strong individual performances. Due to each teams strong defense, only a total of 20 points had been scored in the first 10 minutes of play. Jazmon Harris (Baltimore, Md. / Patterson) gave Harrisburg their second lead of the day with his first three pointer of the game. Teammates Anthony Morgan (York, Pa. / New Hope Academy) and Marquese Daniels (Philadelphia, Pa. / Philadelphia Electric & Technology Charter) each had two back to back lay ups to give Harrisburg their biggest lead of the half, 17-8. In the last minute of the first half, Harrisburg scored six points off of three steals due to turnovers by the Seagulls. The Lions led at half time 27-22.
Salisbury came out with momentum due to a big three pointer scored at the buzzer of the first half. The Seagulls led by nine within the first six minutes of the second half. Penn State Harrisburg fought throughout the second half to tie the game up. With less then four to go, Harris came up big with three points followed by two from Jourdon Wilson (Mechanicsburg, Pa. / Cumberland Valley).This put Harrisburg only three points behind Salisbury. Wilson went on to make two back to back lay ups to tie the game up with 34 seconds left and send both teams into overtime. Harrisburg defeated Salisbury after one overtime due to six points from Harris and two from Morgan.
Head Coach Don Friday had several positive things to say about the Lions big win, "I thought our staff really had our player's attention heading into the game. We defended their actions extremely well in the first half and in stretches late in the game. I kept telling our kids there were plenty of possessions remaining and we needed to concentrate on getting stops. Our program is no longer fixated on how well we have to shoot the basketball, we have instilled in our guys from day one the need to create a defensive identity so nights like tonight can be made possible. We have a ton of respect for Salisbury and the job Coach Sach's has done. We'll enjoy tonight and get right back to work tomorrow as we ready for Friday night's game against Washington."
Penn State Harrisburg will be back in action on Friday December 11th. The men will host non-conference opponent Washington College, tip-off is scheduled for 9 pm.
