WASHINGTON - Penn State Harrisburg's men's basketball team turned in its strongest defensive effort of the season in a 66-49 road victory over United East foe Gallaudet on Tuesday night, Jan. 30.

Donyae Baylor-Carroll recorded his first double-double of the season with 19 points and a career-high 11 assists, while Nate Curry matched a game-high 20 points and pulled down eight rebounds. Alex Leiba had nine points and Malik Holland added eight off the bench. 

Baylor-Carroll got things going early when he knocked down back-to-back 3-balls and turned a steal into a Leiba layup in the game's opening minutes. Leiba added another layup off a Baylor-Carroll find and Curry converted two straight buckets to give Penn State Harrisburg (19-3, 9-0 United East) a 14-6 lead at the 15:36 mark. 

The Lions stretched the advantage to double digits at 19-8 with another Baylor-Carroll triple before Holland buried a 3-pointer of his own to push the lead to 22-10 midway through the opening half. The Bison (2-19, 1-7 United East) cut the deficit to eight with a pair of free throws at the 8:47 mark but Penn State Harrisburg responded by scoring 10 of the next 12 points to end the first half.

Baylor-Carroll opened the second half with a midrange jumper and followed it up with a steal and feed to Isaiah Milien for a layup in transition that stretched the lead to 19 at the 18:38 mark. Curry got hot from beyond the arc midway through the second half and knocked down three consecutive jumpers from distance, all off Baylor-Carroll assists, to make it 54-33 with 11:25 left to play. 

Penn State Harrisburg grabbed its largest lead of the night at 59-35 thanks to an Isaiah Eggleston free throw with 7:24 remaining and Baylor-Carroll put a bow on the victory with a late 3-ball and a pair of free throws in the final seconds. 

NOTABLES

- The Lions finish the month undefeated, winning all eight of their contests in January. 

- Penn State Harrisburg shot 45.3 percent from the floor and held the Bison to 36.4 percent shooting.

- The visitors knocked down a dozen 3-pointers compared to just five by Gallaudet.

- The Bison won the rebounding battle 39-31. 

- The Lions recorded assists on all but one of their 24 field goals. 

- Baylor-Carroll recorded the second double-double of his career with 19 points and a career-high 11 assists. He added three steals and a block. 

- Curry nearly had a double-double with a game-high 20 points, eight rebounds, and three assists.

- Leiba went 4-for-4 from the field and finished with nine points. 

- Holland hit a pair of 3-pointers and finished with eight points off the bench. 

WHO'S NEXT? 

The Lions get a week off before returning to action when they host Penn State Abington for United East action at the Capital Union Building on Wednesday night, Feb. 7. 

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.