UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio - Penn State Harrisburg's men's basketball team came up just short in its upset bid of John Carroll, falling 79-76 to the hosts on the opening day of the JCU Classic on Saturday afternoon, Dec. 20.
Chris Henderson Jr. led the way with a team-high 19 points and seven rebounds, while Dylan Moore racked up 17 points, seven boards and five steals. Isaiah Milien turned in his best performance of the season, netting 13 points off the bench, while Jordan Spencer nearly had a double-double with a dozen points and eight rebounds.
Trailing by 10 points with 12:13 remaining, the Lions (5-6) put together a gritty 17-8 run sparked by three free throws from Milien and capped with a Spencer old-fashioned 3-point play with 8:22 left to play. The visitors kept the defensive pressure on and eventually pulled even thanks to a Moore free throw at the 4:48 mark before two straight layups from Milien put Penn State Harrisburg out in front 74-71 with 2:17 left.
From there, the Blue Streaks (7-2) reeled off four points in a row before Henderson muscled his way through the paint for a layup that put the Lions back out in front by one with 52 seconds remaining. John Carroll responded with a jump shot to pull back in front and Penn State Harrisburg came up empty on a contested jumper on the other end. JCU converted a pair of free throws with 13 seconds left before fouling to prevent the visitors from getting off a potential game-tying 3-pointer in the closing seconds.
The Lions jumped out to a 4-0 advantage to begin the game thanks to back-to-back layups from Moore before another Moore layup put Penn State Harrisburg back in front at 8-7 at the 15:55 mark. After the visitors fell behind midway through the first half, a Henderson layup in transition cut the deficit to one at the 11:55 mark but JCU put together a 16-2 run over the next four and a half minutes and eventually took an 11-point lead into halftime.
NOTABLES
- The Lions continued their dominance on the glass, winning the rebounding battle 48-38.
- Free throw shooting cost Penn State Harrisburg, as the Lions finished just 14-for-25 from the charity stripe.
- Henderson netted a team-high 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
- Moore got it done on both ends, finishing with 17 points, seven boards, five steals and three blocks.
- Milien had his best game of the season, posting 13 points and three assists off the bench.
- Spencer racked up 12 points, eight rebounds and three steals.
- Antwone George added seven points and eight rebounds off the bench.
WHO'S NEXT?
The Lions wrap up their weekend at the JCU Classic against Pitt Bradford on Sunday afternoon.
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can keep up with Penn State Harrisburg Athletics all season long on Instagram, Facebook, X and YouTube using the handle @pshbgathletics.
