Salisbury, Md. – After a heartbreaking loss to York in overtime on Wednesday, Penn State Harrisburg was able to bounce back and pick up their first win of the season on the road against Salisbury, 77-68.
Throughout this young 2014-2015 season, Penn State Harrisburg has battled teams down to the final buzzer and also played from behind multiple times to just miss pulling off some pretty impressive comebacks. Saturday December 6th, the Blue and White put an end to their skid as they defeated conference foe Salisbury by nine on the road.
The two teams battled point for point through the first twenty minutes of play. Both teams took their turn taking the lead and allowing the other to then even the score. The first half saw nine ties and six lead changes as the Lions and Seagulls battled punch for punch to a deadlock at 28-28 heading into halftime.
The second half proved to be much of the same until Penn State Harrisburg was able to pull away around the 14 minute mark and never looked back. The key to the Blue and White's success did not come from a standout performance, but a balanced scoring attack from nearly every player who Coach Friday sent into the game. In fact, 10 different Penn State Harrisburg players contributed in the team's first victory.
Leading the way for the Lions were Tariq Bennett (Philadelphia, Pa. / Milton Hershey School), Josh Johnson (Franklin, Va. / Southampton), and Arick Sodini (Manalapan, Nj. / St. John Vianney) who netted 10 points apiece. The Blue and White also got a lift from senior captain Joey Farthing (Lancaster, Pa. / Hempfield) who had been sidelined up to this point with an injury. Farthing was able to add four points and three assists in his season debut.
Head coach Don Friday was pleased with his team's effort, "I felt our team executed throughout the entire game. They have been through some adversity and today they relied on each other. It was a quality win against a team that is very good on their home floor. We are all committed to making this year's team the best it can be."
The Lions will look to use this win as a boost of confidence moving forward and carry the momentum into their game Wednesday December 10th when they head to Frostburg St. to take on the Bobcats at 8pm.