MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – Penn State Harrisburg's men's basketball team continued to hold sole possession of first place in the United East Volt Division thanks to an 80-72 victory over conference rival Lancaster Bible at the Capital Union Building on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 20.
Donyae Baylor-Carroll led the way with a game-high 30 points, eight steals, and six assists, while Nate Curry recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Isaiah Eggleston provided the spark off the bench with 16 points, seven rebounds, and four blocks.
With his team clinging to a 45-42 advantage with 15:43 remaining in the second half, Baylor-Carroll took the reins of the offense and put on a one-man show on the ensuing three possessions, knocking down a long baseline jumper, connecting on a fallaway 3-ball, and capping off the stretch with a deep contested triple from another area code to push the lead to six at the 12:27 mark.
Sparked by Baylor-Carroll's stretch, the Lions (16-3, 6-0 United East) stretched the advantage to 69-51 with 5:29 left to play behind an Eggleston layup, an Isaiah Milien jumper, and back-to-back buckets and a pair of free throws from Curry.
The Chargers (10-9, 4-2 United East) fought back in the final minutes, however, aided by free throws and much-needed 3-pointers from Luke Rumbaugh and Grant Sareyka. Lancaster Bible pulled to within five points following a Connor Storr layup with 1:27 remaining but the visitors went the foul route and Curry and Baylor-Carroll combined for six free throws in crunch time to put the game on ice.
Penn State Harrisburg jumped out a 15-6 lead to begin the contest but the Chargers kept the home team from pulling away. The Lions did run out to a 37-25 advantage following a pair of free throws and a layup from Baylor-Carroll with 2:16 left before the break but Lancaster Bible cut the deficit to a more-manageable seven at halftime.
NOTABLES
- The Lions shot 48.2 percent from the floor compared to 37.5 percent from field by Lancaster Bible.
- Penn State Harrisburg finished with a 43-35 edge in the rebounding battle.
- The Chargers scored 21 points off 18 Penn State Harrisburg turnovers.
- The home team piled up 38 points in the paint, while LBC managed just 20 points down low.
- Baylor-Carroll turned in one of his best efforts of the season, finishing with a game-high 30 points, a career-high eight steals, six assists, and four rebounds. He was an impressive 14-of-16 from the charity stripe.
- Curry posted his sixth double-double of the year with 17 points and 10 rebounds. He needs just five boards to become the program's all-time leading rebounder.
- Eggleston was excellent off the bench, shooting 7-of-8 from the field en route to 16 points, eight rebounds, and a game-high four blocks.
- Milien tallied eight points and seven boards before fouling out.
- Lance Douglas did the dirty work, finishing with seven assists, seven rebounds, and three steals.
ORANGE 4 OWEN
Saturday night's contest against Lancaster Bible served as the annual Orange 4 Owen game thanks to the support of Mark and Karen Brezitski. Owen's Foundation was born out of a tragedy to honor their son, Owen Brezitski, who at the age of eight was killed by a distracted driver in front of Bishop McDevitt High School in Harrisburg, Pa. The goal of Orange 4 Owen is to promote pedestrian, driver, traffic, and childhood safety and all aspects of community safety as well as raise awareness of the consequences of distracted driving practices. For more information about Owen's Foundation go to orange4owen.org.
WHO'S NEXT?
The Lions continue United East play when they host Penn College at the Capital Union Building on Wednesday night.
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can keep up with Penn State Harrisburg Athletics all season long on Instagram, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Threads, and Youtube using the handle @pshbgathletics.