WORCESTER, Mass. - An historic 2021-22 campaign came to an end for Penn State Harrisburg's men's basketball team with a 72-52 loss to No. 13 Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at WPI's Harrington Auditorium on Saturday night, March 5.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Penn State Harrisburg (24-4) wrapped up one of the most memorable campaigns in program history with a season-ending loss to No. 13 WPI (26-2) in NCAA Tournament Second-Round action on Saturday night. 

Donyae Baylor-Carroll netted a team-high 19 points, while Zegary Scott III added 16 points of his own. Pedro Rodriguez pulled down a team-high eight rebounds to go along with eight points. 

After nearly four scoreless minutes to begin the game, the Lions jumped out to a 4-2 lead following layups by Baylor-Carroll and Nate Curry. From there, the home team put together an 18-2 run over the next seven minutes before Baylor-Carroll ended the run with a 3-ball at the 6:06 mark.

For the rest of the half, the Engineers showed why they rank as one of the top defensive teams in the nation, holding the Blue & White to just three points in the final six minutes. With Penn State Harrisburg missing defensive stalwart Dylan Daniels for the third straight game. WPI's big-man duo of John Lowther and John Adams took advantage on the other end, combining to score 22 first-half points. 

After a rough-shooting first half for the Blue & White, the Engineers were able to keep the visitors at arm's length after the break. Despite trailing by as many as 32 points in the second half, however, the Lions battled to the final buzzer, clawing back and pulling to within 18 following a Rodriguez pull-up 3-pointer with 1:48 to play. 

NOTABLES

- The Lions finish the season with a program-record 24 wins and an .857 win percentage.

- Penn State Harrisburg shot 33.3 percent from the field and just 16 percent from beyond the arc.

- WPI won the rebounding battle 40-32.

- Donyae Baylor-Carroll led the way with a team-high 19 points. 

- Zegary Scott III was the only other Penn State Harrisburg player to reach double figures with 16 points.

- Pedro Rodriguez nearly had a double-double, finishing with eight points and eight rebounds. 

- Nate Curry added five points and six boards. 

- Alex Leiba finished with six rebounds off the bench. 

- John Lowther scored a game-high 23 points to lead the way for WPI. 

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