ASHLAND, Va. - After building double-digit leads on multiple occasions, Penn State Harrisburg's men's basketball team withstood a second-half spurt from North Carolina Wesleyan in a 78-71 victory at Randolph-Macon's Crenshaw Gym on the opening night of RMC's Coaches Tournament on Friday night, Dec. 29.
Five players reached double figures led by Nate Curry's near double-double, as he finished with a game-high 16 points and nine rebounds. Alex Leiba matched a game-high 16 points, while Chase Robinson netted 13 of his own. Donyae Baylor-Carroll and Isaiah Eggleston added 11 points apiece.
After the Battling Bishops (5-5) erased a 39-32 halftime deficit and pulled ahead 47-44 with 14:29 left to play, the Lions (11-2) put together a key 9-0 run over the ensuing two minutes that began with an Eggleston layup off a Baylor-Carroll find and ended with a Robinson conversion off a Lance Douglas feed.
Penn State Harrisburg led by seven midway through the second half but the defending USA South champs clawed back and cut the deficit to 56-53 with a pair of free throws at the 10:13 mark. Baylor-Carroll converted a tough layup in traffic on the other end to answer back before a Curry 3-ball off a Baylor-Carroll assist pushed the advantage to 63-57 with 7:37 remaining.
The Lions took control of the game for good by ramping things up in transition, resulting in four consecutive fastbreak dunks and layups from Dylan Moore, Leiba, and Chase Robinson. The pivotal 8-0 run increased the lead to 71-59 at the 4:19 mark and though NC Wesleyan tried to answer with with a jumper that cut the deficit to 10, Baylor-Carroll buried a corner triple off a Robinson find that pushed the advantage back to 13 with 3:01 to go, effectively putting things out of reach in crunch time.
NOTABLES
- NC Wesleyan is the fourth NCAA Tournament team from a year ago the Lions have faced this season. Penn State Harrisburg is 3-1 in those contests.
- The Lions shot 51.6 percent from the floor, compared to just 41.2 percent for Wesleyan.
- Penn State Harrisburg scored 15 fastbreak points.
- Curry nearly recorded a double-double with a game-high 16 points and nine rebounds.
- Leiba matched a game-high 16 points. He added six boards and a game-high three blocks.
- Robinson finished with 13 points, six assists, and three steals.
- Baylor-Carroll added 11 points, six assists, four rebounds, and three steals.
- Eggleston chipped in with 11 points off the bench.
- Moore impressed in a reserve role with six points, seven boards, four assists, and three steals.
WHO'S NEXT?
After Randolph-Macon defeated Bryn Athyn in Friday's second contest, the Lions will face the hosts in the tournament championship game on Saturday evening. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.
STAY CONNECTED
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