ST. MARY'S CITY, Md. - In a matchup of squads unbeaten in conference play, Penn State Harrisburg's men's basketball team overcame a disastrous start and a poor shooting from both the floor and the foul line to escape with a gritty 70-66 road victory over United East foe St. Mary's (Md.) on Wednesday night, Jan. 17.
Five players reached the double-digit scoring mark, led by 15 points from Lance Douglas. Isaiah Eggleston provided a spark off the bench with 13, while Nate Curry finished one rebound shy of a double-double with a dozen points and nine rebounds. Donyae Baylor-Carroll added 12 points, while Isaiah Milien chipped in with 10 of his own.
After a back-and-forth opening five minutes of play, the Lions (15-3, 5-0 United East) fell into a massive hole that ballooned to a 32-15 deficit with 6:17 remaining in the first half. Jayson Fain stopped the bleeding with a jumper from beyond the arc and the visitors put together a game-changing 21-6 run sparked by three consecutive Eggleston 3-balls to close out the half and cut the deficit to two heading into the break.
The Seahawks (9-9, 4-1 United East) scored the first five points of the second half before Baylor-Carroll connected on a corner triple to begin a 7-0 Penn State Harrisburg spurt. Milien converted an old-fashioned 3-point play a couple possessions later to put the Lions out in front 48-46 at the 15:11 mark, Douglas knocked down a pair of free throws, and Curry converted a layup off a Milien feed to push the advantage to six with 13:44 left to play.
A putback dunk from Alex Leiba and a Curry jumper kept the lead at six with less than seven minutes remaining and Baylor-Carroll buried back-to-back jumper to stretch the lead to double figures at 65-55 with 4:35 left but St. Mary's hung around and used a 6-0 run to pull to within four at the 3:15 mark.
Both teams had opportunities to shift momentum from the charity stripe but both squads struggled to convert more than one free throw at a time in the final minutes. After the Seahawks cut the deficit to two with 1:14 left, Eggleston came throw with a clutch bucket off an offensive board to make it a two-possession game with 51 seconds remaining.
The home team drew to within two one last time following a driving layup with 29 seconds left but Curry came through with two free throws in the closing seconds to seal the improbable victory and keep the Lions undefeated in conference play.
NOTABLES
- Penn State Harrisburg now holds sole possession of first place in the United East Volt Division.
- The Lions shot just 37.7 percent from the field and went 15-of-24 from the foul line.
- Penn State Harrisburg dominated on the glass, finishing with a 49-27 rebounding advantage.
- The Seahawks held advantages in points in the paint (30-18) and fastbreak points (14-4).
- The Penn State Harrisburg bench outscored the St. Mary's reserves 16-6.
- Douglas led the way with a team-high 15 points, six rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
- Curry nearly had a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds. He reached the 1,400-point mark for his career in the process.
- Eggleston was strong off the bench, knocking down a trio of 3-pointers en route to 13 points.
- Baylor-Carroll racked up a dozen points, four rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
- Milien finished with 10 points, four boards, three steals, and a pair of assists.
- Leiba pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds to go along with seven points.
WHO'S NEXT?
The Lions host United East rival Lancaster Bible at the Capital Union Building on Saturday afternoon.
STAY CONNECTED
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