MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – Penn State Harrisburg's men's basketball team took No. 23 Montclair State to the limit before narrowly falling 75-73 at the buzzer in the final contest of the Penn State Harrisburg Tip-Off Classic at the Capital Union Building on Saturday afternoon, Nov. 9.


Dylan Moore led the way, shooting 60 percent from the field en route to netting a team-high 21 points, while Chris Henderson Jr. finished with 14 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals. Justin Leddo added 13 points and a team-best seven boards and Andre Thomas III dished out a game-high eight assists. Off the bench, David Reed IV and Antwone George combined for 19 points.


Trailing by nine with less than five minutes remaining, the Lions (0-2) used an 11-3 run and some timely defense to pull to within one when Moore buried his third 3-ball with 1:38 to play. The Red Hawks (2-0) converted a pair of free throws the next time down the floor but Moore answered with a pair of his own with 1:10 remaining.


Penn State Harrisburg had its chance after Henderson swiped a ball from Jacob Morales with 58 seconds left, getting off two attempts and pulling down two offensive boards before ultimately coming away empty-handed with six seconds left. The home team was forced to foul and after Cristian Nicholson missed his second attempt from the stripe, Mason Pulliam snagged the rebound, raced into the front court and got off a last-second 3-point attempt that rimmed out at the final buzzer.


The Lions led 34-29 at the break but Montclair State put together a 10-2 run to pull ahead early in the second half. Penn State Harrisburg retook the lead on a Leddo steal and fastbreak layup and George added a pair of free throws to make it 43-39 with 15:08 left. A Henderson triple put the home team ahead 55-54 at the 8:24 mark before the Red Hawks used a 13-4 spurt to set up the game's dramatics in crunch time.


Penn State Harrisburg opened the game strong, jumping out to a 13-4 advantage in the first five minutes. Montclair State took the lead for the first time at 29-28 with 2:23 to go in the first half but the Lions closed it out with a 6-0 run that included a fastbreak layup from Moore and four combined free throws from Moore and Milien.  


NOTABLES
- Penn State Harrisburg's bench outscored the Red Hawk reserves 23-6.
- The Lions won the rebounding battle 45-31.
- Montclair State connected on 11 3-pointers, while the Lions managed four triples.
- Moore shot 60 percent from the field, went 7-for-7 from the foul line, and was 2-of-3 from beyond the arc to tally 21 points. He also pulled down six boards.
- Henderson finished with 14 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals.
- Leddo had 13 points and seven boards. He was named to the all-classic team for his efforts.
- Reed and George combined for 19 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.
- Thomas dished-out a game-high eight assists.


WHO'S NEXT?
The Lions host Swarthmore for another non-conference contest at the Capital Union Building on Saturday afternoon, Nov. 15.


STAY CONNECTED
Fans can keep up with Penn State Harrisburg Athletics all season long on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube using the handle @pshbgathletics.