MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – After falling to Kean on the road in an early-season shootout a year ago, Penn State Harrisburg flipped the script in the 2023-24 season opener by stifling the visiting Cougars in a 59-51 defensive slugfest at the Capital Union Building on Wednesday night, Nov. 8.
In his first outing in nearly two years, Donyae Baylor-Carroll netted a game-high 20 points to go along with a game-best seven assists and seven steals. Alex Leiba finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 13 points and nine boards, while Nate Curry added 11 rebounds and seven points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Penn State Harrisburg (1-0) erased a 14-point first half deficit, took its first lead minutes before halftime, and held Kean (0-1) at bay for the majority of the second half in the team's season-opening victory on Wednesday night.
The Cougars scored the game's first seven points before grabbing their largest advantage of the game when Griffin Baker converted a layup at the 9:57 mark, prompting a timeout from the home team.
From there, the Lions ramped up the aggressiveness on the defensive end and methodically clawed their way back into it, using a 21-6 run to end the first half. Baylor-Carroll sparked the spurt with four straight points before Leiba added four consecutive points of his own. Freshman Justin Leddo knocked down a pair of free throws during the stretch, Chase Robinson converted a layup and added two foul shots, and Leiba made it 26-23 with a layup off a Baylor-Carroll find with 52 seconds left before the break.
Kean pulled even at 30-30 early in the second half but the Lions responded with a 7-0 run that began with a Curry jumper and ended with another Leiba layup. Penn State Harrisburg took its largest lead of the night when Baylor-Carroll scooped home a layup from the left side with 8:44 remaining to make it 46-35 but the visitors strung together buckets that culminated with an Isaiah Fuller 3-ball that cut the deficit to 48-46 with 5:22 left to play.
On the ensuing possession, Curry single-handedly halted the Kean momentum with Penn State Harrisburg's lone 3-pointer of the game to slide the advantage back to five with five minutes left. Baylor-Carroll and Leiba hit back-to-back layups to make it 55-48 with two and half remaining and the former put the finishing touches on the comeback victory by stopping on a dime and burying a foul line jumper in the final seconds.
NOTABLES
- The Lions got the win despite shooting just 1-for-10 from beyond the arc.
- Penn State Harrisburg's defense forced 20 turnovers and scored 24 points off Kean miscues.
- The Lions assisted on 16 of their 20 field goals.
- Both teams got to the foul line 24 times. Penn State Harrisburg shot 75 percent (18-of-24) from the charity stripe, while the Cougars shot 62.5 percent (15-of-24) from the free throw line.
- The home team won the rebounding battle 44-to-38.
- Baylor-Carroll finished with game highs of 20 points, seven assists, and seven steals.
- Leiba nearly had a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds. He also had two blocks.
- Curry grabbed a team-best 11 rebounds to go along with seven points and three steals.
- Robinson scored six points and had six boards, while Lance Douglas pulled down seven rebounds.
- Freshman Dylan Moore added four points in eight minutes off the bench.
WHO'S NEXT?
The Lions host the Penn State Harrisburg Tip-Off Classic beginning Saturday afternoon. They'll face Marymount (Va.) at the Capital Union Building in the first game of the weekend at 4 p.m.
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can keep up with Penn State Harrisburg Athletics all season long on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube using the handle @pshbgathletics.