Ithaca, N.Y. – The Penn State Harrisburg men's basketball team suffered its first loss of the season Tuesday November 23rd when they traveled to face Division I Cornell University. After staying in contention early, Cornell eventually wore down the Lions for a 76-47 win.
Harrisburg started strong and took an early 5-4 lead after an Anthony Morgan (York, Pa / New Hope Academy) three pointer with 15:45 to play in the first half. After being tied at 13 with 12:35 to go in the half, Cornell went on a 9-0 run that started to separate the two teams. The Lions got the game back within six, but would eventually go to the locker rooms down 36-25.
Arick Sodini (Manalapan, N.J. / St. John Vianney) and Jourdon Wilson (Mechanicsburg, Pa. / Cumberland Valley) combined for five quick points to start the second half and bring Penn State Harrisburg within six. Unfortunately from that point on, the Lions were unable to match the offensive scoring Cornell continued throughout the second half. They slowly worked up a solid double digit lead and were able to close out the game comfortably.
"Cornell University did a great job of establishing a tempo at both ends of the floor. We never really were able to settle into a rhythm offensively or get multiple stops at our defensive end." Coach Friday continued closed the night off with, "we will build on our guy's effort and commitment after we return from thanksgiving break. The season is so very young and this team has so much room to grow."
Wilson was the only double digit scorer on the night for Harrisburg, leading the team with 11. The Lions are now 4-1 after the 76-47 loss to the Division I Ivy league team. It has been a very exciting start to the season with Capital Athletic Conference games starting just over a week away and scheduled for Wednesday December 2nd at the Capital Union Building (CUB) against Frostburg St.
The Blue and White get a few days off for Thanksgiving break before hitting the road again to face off with Susquehanna University Sunday November 29th at 4:00pm.
