MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – As it has multiple times this season, Penn State Harrisburg's men's basketball team overcame a double-digit first-half deficit en route to another win; this time an 80-74 victory over Muhlenberg at the Capital Union Building in the final non-conference game of the season on Wednesday night, Jan. 3.
Donyae Baylor-Carroll turned in his best all-around performance of the season, pouring in a game-high 31 points to go along with a team-best nine rebounds, five assists, five steals, and a block. Nate Curry provided the sparks for the Lions (12-3) in the first half and finished with 16 points and six boards. Lance Douglas added 10 points, while Isaiah Eggleston and Isaiah Milien combined for 16 points off the bench.
The Mules (3-8) shot lights out from beyond the arc to begin the game and relied on the 3-ball to build an advantage, hitting four of their first five triples to jump out to a 24-14 lead with 9:33 left before halftime. Penn State Harrisburg chipped away and eventually pulled ahead when Baylor-Carroll and Douglas hit back-to-back trifectas to make it 38-36 at the 1:35 mark before Curry beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer off a Baylor-Carroll feed as time expired at the end of the first half.
Chase Robinson opened the second half with a 3-ball, Baylor-Carroll sank another, and Douglas hit one from distance to make it 50-43 with 18:27 left to play. Baylor-Carroll converted a layup while being fouled and added the free throw to give the Lions a 10-point lead with 16 minutes remaining and Milien's triple a few possessions later gave the home team its largest advantage of the game at 62-51 with 10:58 left.
Penn State Harrisburg led by 10 with less than seven minutes remaining but Muhlenberg's Charlie Gillikin was a one-man 3-point contest down the stretch and helped key an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to two at the 4:49 mark.
Baylor-Carroll answered with a jump shot through contact and completed the 4-point play at the foul line. Curry added a layup off a Robinson find the next time down the floor to push the lead back to seven with less than three minutes remaining but the Mules responded with four straight points to pull to within three with 2:04 left.
In crunch time, Baylor-Carroll continued to shine, burying a step-back 3-pointer to double the advantage with 1:39 remaining before the Lions turned away the visitors the next time down the floor. With Muhlenberg forced to foul, DBC and Douglas combined for five free throws in the final 44 seconds to seal the final non-conference win of the year.
NOTABLES
- The Lions completed non-conference play 10-3 this season.
- Penn State Harrisburg went 11-of-14 (78.6 percent) from the foul line.
- The Lions recorded assists on 20 of their 28 field goals.
- Penn State Harrisburg got off 15 more attempts than Muhlenberg from the field.
- The home team won the rebounding battle 38-31 and scored 15 second chance points.
- Baylor-Carroll poured in a game-high 31 points on 50 percent shooting from 3-point range (5-of-10) and 8-of-8 shooting from the foul line. He added a team-best nine rebounds, five assists, and five steals.
- After carrying the scoring load in the first half, Curry finished with 16 points, six rebounds, and three assists.
- Douglas was the third player to reach double figures with 10 points. He added four assists and three boards.
- Eggleston flirted with a double-double with nine points and seven rebounds off the bench.
- Milien chipped in with seven points and three boards in a reserve role.
- Robinson netted five points to go along with five rebounds, five assists, and a pair of steals.
WHO'S NEXT?
The Lions return to conference play when they host United East foe Penn State Berks at the Capital Union Building on Saturday afternoon.
STAY CONNECTED
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