GREENSBORO, N.C. – Penn State Harrisburg's men's basketball team erased a nine-point deficit with six and a half minutes remaining in the second half to win a 72-67 thriller over a Hood squad receiving votes in the latest national rankings in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Guilford's Ragan-Brown Field House on Friday night, March 1.
Donyae Baylor-Carroll battled through foul trouble to finish with 18 points, four assists, four rebounds, and a pair of steals, while Nate Curry netted a game-high 20 points and grabbed five boards. Malik Holland (11) and Isaiah Eggleston (10) also reached the double-digit scoring mark.
After sitting for nearly seven minutes of the second half with four fouls, Baylor-Carroll came up clutch when he buried the go-ahead step-back jumper from just inside the arc with a hand in his face to put the Lions (25-4) ahead for good at 66-65 with 36 seconds to play.
After the Blazers (19-7) missed a potential go-ahead jump shot the next time down the floor, Milien came up with a key offensive rebound with 16 ticks remaining and converted a pair of foul shots after being intentionally fouled. Curry had ice water in his veins from the charity stripe in crunch time, connecting on four free throws in the final 15 seconds to put it out of reach.
Penn State Harrisburg held a 41-31 lead at halftime but Hood used a barrage of 3-balls to open the second half to erase the double-digit deficit and pull ahead 44-43 with 15:20 left to play. A Holland triple and a Curry free throw put the Lions back out in front at 47-44 at the 14:08 mark but four Blazer 3-pointers over the next five and a half minutes put Hood back on top 58-49 with eight and a half remaining.
The Lions trailed 60-51 as late as the 6:34 mark but a Lance Douglas free throw and a much-needed corner 3-ball from Eggleston cut the deficit to five. After a Hood bucket, Curry and Baylor-Carroll combined for four free throws before DBC came through with a deep 3-pointer from the wing to tie things up at 62-62 with 2:52 to play.
After the Blazers were unable to answer, Curry was fouled and hit both of his free throws to put Penn State Harrisburg back in front at the 2:26 mark. Hood had one last arrow in the quiver, however, and Garrett Cox nailed a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:44 remaining but the Blazers had no answer for Baylor-Carroll's heroics in the final minute.
NOTABLES
- The latest NCAA Tournament win is the third in the last four seasons for Penn State Harrisburg.
- The victory was a new single-season program-record 25th on the year for the Lions.
- In a game of runs, Penn State Harrisburg ended the first half with a 19-10 spurt, while the Blazers opened the second with a 27-8 run. The Lions ended the game with a decisive 21-6 run in the final 6:33.
- Penn State Harrisburg finished with a narrow 42-40 edge in rebounds.
- The Lions aggressiveness proved the difference as they got to the foul line 28 times, compared to just eight trips to the stripe for Hood.
- Penn State Harrisburg scored 21 points off Hood turnovers.
- Baylor-Carroll finished with 18 points, four assists, four rebounds, and a pair of steals.
- Curry netted a game-high 20 points to go along with five boards. He finished 10-of-12 from the foul line.
- Holland hit a trio of 3-pointers en route to finishing with 11 points.
- Eggleston added 10 points and three rebounds off the bench.
- Milien added seven points, including four big free throws, six boards, four assists, and two steals.
- Douglas grabbed a team-high seven rebounds to go along with four points.
- Alex Leiba pulled down six boards.
WHAT'S NEXT?
The Lions will face the hosts from No. 7 Guilford in second-round action on Saturday night. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m.
STAY CONNECTED
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