Penn State Harrisburg 90, Wilson 82

Harrisburg Starters

Baylor-Carroll, Nelson, Scott, Alliyu, Williams

Wilson Starters

Thomas, Adams, Henderson, Bean, Powell

How It Happened

Penn State Harrisburg's resolve and toughness was on full display in the team's gritty 90-82 victory over Wilson at the Capital Union Building (CUB) on Sunday afternoon, Dec. 16.

Despite trailing for nearly 35 total minutes, and facing a double-digit deficit as large as 13 at one point, the Lions (8-1) overcame a slow shooting start, rallied down the stretch and used a combination of timely baskets and tenacious defense to pull out the hard-fought win against a game opponent one day after the visiting Phoenix (3-9) nearly upset Division I Mount St. Mary's (Md.).

Five Harrisburg players reached the double-digit scoring mark. Donyae Baylor-Carroll poured in a team-high 21 points for the Blue & White, while Chris Bing imposed his will inside and finished with a 13-point, 12-rebound double-double. Reigning Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) player of the Week Kahlil Williams netted 15, Ibn-Haneef Nelson posted 11 points and Brandon Coleman added 10 tallies, five assists and four rebounds off the bench. Keenan Wise also performed well in a reserve role, racking up nine points, five rebounds and four assists.

The game's key sequence came late in the second half with the Lions down 81-80 with less than three minutes to play. The Blue & White forced a turnover when Williams came up with a steal on the defensive end. On the other side of the floor, Wise connected with a curling Baylor-Carroll who buried a contested jumper from beyond the arc while being fouled to put the home team ahead with 2:20 remaining. Penn State Harrisburg never trailed again.

On the team's ensuing possession, Coleman grabbed a key offensive rebound before diving to the hole for a layup that doubled the Lions' advantage. Wilson's next trip down the floor ended with Bing rejecting a Rashaan Bean finger roll off glass, corralling the loose ball and getting fouled.

After the big man tacked on a free throw to make it 86-81 with one minute left, Nelson joined the block party with a rejection of Zachary Powell. Baylor-Carroll grabbed the rebound, absorbed a foul and knocked down a pair of free throws to put the game out of reach with just 38 seconds to go.

The opening stretch of the contest was a struggle for the home team, with Harrisburg shooting less than 20 percent from the floor in the game's opening minutes. Wilson, on the other hand, had little trouble making shots and eventually took its largest lead of the day at 20-7 following an Ian Hess 3-pointer at the 11:35 mark of the first half.

Still trailing by 13 with four and change remaining in the opening half, the Blue & White closed out the final minutes with a much-needed 17-8 run, capped when Milton Hershey alums Pedro Rodriguez and Baylor-Carroll combined for three free throws, that cut the deficit to four at the break.

Inside the Numbers

- Despite a rough start, the Lions finished with a 47.1 percent clip from the field.

- More impressively, Penn State Harrisburg shot 47.8 percent from 3-point territory.

- The Blue & White bench outscored the Wilson reserves 39-31.

- The Phoenix won the rebounding battle 47-37 and scored 19 second chance points.

- Both teams shot an identical 72.2 percent (13-of-18) from the charity stripe.

- Harrisburg finished with 38 points in the paint, compared to just 26 for the visitors.

- The Lions assisted on 22 of the team's 33 made field goals.

- Donyae Baylor-Carroll poured in a team-high 21 points, burying five 3-pointers to go along with six assists and two rebounds.

- Chris Bing recorded his third double-double of the year with 13 points and 12 boards. He also racked up four blocks.

- Kahlil Williams worked hard for 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting.

- Normally a defense-first player, Ibn-Haneef Nelson got into the scoring act with 11 in addition to three boards, two assists, a steal and a block.

- Brandon Coleman and Keenan Wise did a little bit of everything, with Coleman posting 10 points, five assists and four rebounds, while Wise buried three 3-balls to go along with five boards and four assists.

- Bradley DaBella hit two triples in 10 minutes of action and Pedro Rodriguez provided his usual spark off the bench.

- Rashaan Bean scored a game-high 23 points for Wilson.

Who's Next?

The Lions are headed south for a pair of contests in the Sunshine State against Wesleyan (Conn.) and Carthage in Miami, Fla. beginning on Tuesday afternoon.

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