READING, Pa. - Penn State Harrisburg's men's basketball team held off Alvernia 80-76 to secure a key non-conference road victory on Saturday night, Nov. 22.
Jordan Spencer led all scorers with a career-high 21 points to go along with a game-high eight rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals. Chris Henderson Jr. nearly had a double-double with 11 points and a game-best eight boards. Antwone George added 13 points off the bench, Maurice Davis netted 12 and Dylan Moore finished with 10 points.
The Lions (2-3) led by as many as 10 points with 4:30 remaining but Alvernia (3-3) made a late charge and put together a key 10-0 run to tie things up with 2:32 left to play. George was fouled next time down the floor and converted both free throws to put the visitors back in front at the 1:55 mark and the Penn State Harrisburg defense eventually forced a shot clock violation with less than 20 seconds left. The Golden Wolves were forced to foul and Jordan Spencer knocked down a pair of clutch free throws with 17 seconds remaining to seal the win.
Leading 40-39 at halftime, the Lions opened the second on an 18-7 run to lead by as many as a dozen points following a offensive board from Moore and a Spencer layup at the 13:11 mark. A Mason Pulliam jumper and Justin Leddo layup kept the lead at double figures before Alvernia put together its late push to set up a hotly-contested finish.
Penn State Harrisburg opened the game on a 5-0 run and eventually jumped out to a 12-5 lead thanks to a Spencer fastbreak layup off a David Reed IV steal at the 14:49 mark. The home team pulled ahead 14-12 with 12:29 left before the break but back-to-back 3-balls from George and Pulliam put the Lions back out in front two and a half minutes later.
Alvernia used a run to go ahead 39-35 at the 1:07 mark but Spencer responded with a jumper and Moore closed out the half with an old-fashioned 3-point play to give Penn State Harrisburg the one-point advantage at the break.
NOTABLES
- Both teams had great shooting nights, with the Lions shooting 52.5 percent from the field and Alvernia shooting 52.4 percent from the floor.
- Penn State Harrisburg dominated the glass, finishing with a 36-19 rebounding advantage.
- The Lions finished with 18 offensive boards - one shy of Alvernia's entire rebounding total.
- Penn State Harrisburg's bench outscored the Alvernia reserves 26-2.
- The Lions tallied 26 second chance points and 40 points in the paint.
- Spencer finished with a career-high 21 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.
- Henderson nearly had a double-double with 11 points and eight boards.
- George finished with 13 points and five rebounds off the bench.
- Davis was 5-of-6 from the field en route to scoring a dozen points.
- Moore was the fifth player to reach double figures with 10 points.
- Andre Thomas dished out a game-high seven assists.
WHO'S NEXT?
The Lions travel to Susquehanna for another non-conference contest on Tuesday night.
STAY CONNECTED
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