MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – Penn State Harrisburg's men's basketball team held off conference foe Wells in a 73-61 victory in each team's United East opener at the Capital Union Building on Friday night, Dec. 3.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Penn State Harrisburg (7-1, 1-0 United East) withstood a gritty effort from Wells (3-4, 0-1 United East) in a double-digit win on Friday night. Nate Curry netted a game-high 19 points, Donyae Baylor-Carroll scored 16, Dylan Daniels had double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Brandon Coleman added 13 of his own.

The Lions jumped out to an 8-2 lead following a Coleman 3-ball at the 16:07 mark but the visitors pulled even at 10-10 less than three minutes later. Malik Holland capped an ensuing 11-3 run by knocking down a corner 3-pointer while being fouled with eight minutes left before halftime but again the Express closed the gap to two just a minute and a half later.

The Blue & White created more space with a 9-2 run capped by a Curry layup off a Baylor-Carroll feed and Daniels tipped in an offensive rebound to make it 35-30 at the break.

Baylor-Carroll came to life to begin the second half, burying back-to-back triples and Daniels hammered home a two-handed slam off a find from Zegary Scott III to push the lead to 43-33 with 17:56 remaining. Wells refused to roll over, however, putting together a 13-5 run over the next 6:48 to cut the deficit to two.

The home team mounted a final charge that proved too much for the Express to overcome, with Curry and Daniels combining for 13 points in a row to stretch the advantage to double digits with less than eight minutes left to play. Coleman and Curry put the finishing touches on the scoring with back-to-back layups in the closing minutes.

NOTABLES

- The Lions shot an impressive 50 percent from the field, while Wells shot 40.4 percent from the floor.

- The Express shot a strong 44 percent from 3-point range. The Blue & White shot 31.6 percent from distance.

- Penn State Harrisburg won the rebounding battle 35-30.

- The Lions assisted on 21 of their 28 made field goals on the night.

- Nate Curry scored a game-high 19 points and added six rebounds and three steals.

- Donyae Baylor-Carroll stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points, eight assists, and five steals.

- Dylan Daniels recorded another double-double with a dozen points, 10 boards, and seven blocks.

- Brandon Coleman was a perfect 5-5 from the field and 1-1 from the foul line in tallying 13 points.

- Zegary Scott III dished out 10 assists to go along with two steals and two points.

- Pedro Rodriguez added six points, two boards, and a pair of steals off the bench.

- Ransel Rodriguez led the way for Wells with 16 points.

WHO'S NEXT?

The Lions continue conference play when they host United East foe SUNY Morrisville at the Capital Union Building on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.

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