LANCASTER, Pa. – Penn State Harrisburg's men's basketball team knocked off top-seed Lancaster Bible 85-52 at the Horst Athletic Center on Saturday night to win the program's second straight United East Championship and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the second consecutive season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Penn State Harrisburg (23-3) avenged last weekend's regular-season finale loss to Lancaster Bible (20-7) by trouncing the Chargers in the 2022 United East Championship Game to secure the program's second consecutive conference title and clinch a spot in the NCAA Tournament for second time.

Nate Curry was named the United East Tournament most valuable player (MVP) after scoring a game-high 25 points on 11-of-13 shooting, while Donyae Baylor-Carroll poured in 23 points of his own. Pedro Rodriguez was the third player to reach double figures with 11 points.

After struggling to get going at Lancaster Bible a week ago, there was no such problem for the Lions this time around, as the visitors used a 22-4 run midway through the first half to open up a 36-15 lead with 3:53 left before halftime. Curry was electric in the opening half, going a perfect 8-for-8 from the floor, including 3-for-3 from beyond the arc, to spark the scoring. Baylor-Caroll also got going late in the half, converting a 3-ball and a driving layup on back-to-back possessions.

Seth Beers kept the Chargers in it thanks to a pair of 3-pointers before the break that cut the deficit to a more manageable 11 but the Blue & White scored the first four points after halftime to halt the home team's momentum.

Brandon Coleman kept the fun rolling with a steal and two-handed jam that pushed the advantage to 15 with 16:58 remaining and the Penn State Harrisburg defense made life miserable on Lancaster Bible's shooters as the second half wore on. Baylor-Carroll put his stamp on things by scoring 10 straight, including his third and fourth 3-balls of the night, to stretch the lead to 69-43 with 6:08 left to play.

Curry and Baylor-Carroll traded buckets to cap their outstanding efforts, Rodriguez and Chris Haynes got into the scoring act in the closing minutes, and Robert Bobeck put an exclamation point on the memorable victory with a two-handed slam in the final seconds.

NOTABLES

- The conference title is the second in program history for Penn State Harrisburg after achieving the same feat in 2019-20.

- The Blue & White will now play in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season.

- The Lions shot a blistering 56.5 percent from the field and 45 percent from beyond the arc.

- Lancaster Bible shot just 34 percent from the floor and 22.2 percent from 3-point range.

- Penn State Harrisburg's defense led the way and held the Chargers to their lowest point total of the season.

- The Blue & White dominated the boards, finishing with a 41-25 edge on the glass.

- The visitors scored 44 points in the paint, while LBC scored just 16.

- Nate Curry was named the United East Tournament MVP after scoring 25 points on 11-of-13 shooting. He added six rebounds, two assists, and two steals.

- Donyae Baylor-Carroll poured in 23 points, including 15 in the second half, to go along with seven boards and four assists.

- Pedro Rodriguez got the start and scored 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting.

- Brandon Coleman had six points, five rebounds, and two assists.

- Alex Leiba and Lance Douglas netted five each off the bench, while Leiba grabbed a game-high eight boards.

- Seth Beers scored a team-high 12 points to lead the way for Lancaster Bible.

WHO'S NEXT?

The Lions will find out their NCAA Tournament First-Round opponent when the Division III selection show is released on Monday afternoon, Feb. 28.

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