WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - Penn State Harrisburg's men's basketball team showed off its resiliency, overcoming a 13-point first half deficit en route to a 72-58 conference victory over United East foe Penn College on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 17.


Chris Henderson Jr. finished with a game-high 13 points, while Jordan Spencer finished one rebound shy of a double-double with nine points and 10 boards. Dylan Moore had a dozen points and six rebounds, while Antwone George and Elija Eccleston each chipped in with 10 points apiece off the bench. 


The Lions (11-7, 7-0 United East) trailed 25-12 with 6:31 left in the opening half before putting together a game-changing 20-4 run that began with an Eccleston 3-ball and culminated with back-to-back layups from Moore at the 1:49 mark. After Penn College (3-14, 2-4 United East) used a 3-pointer to tie it up, Spencer knocked down a pair of free throws to give the visitors a 34-32 lead at the break.


Henderson and Andre Thomas III each converted layups to open the second half and Penn State Harrisburg maintained a six-point lead but the Wildcats refused to go away, using a 12-3 spurt to pull back in front 49-45 with 13:04 left to play. 


The Lions had another run in them, however, and scored the next 10 straight to pull ahead once again. George converted a layup and Moore buried a jumper to tie things up. Justin Leddo added a layup in the paint before Kevin Lucas Jr. knocked down a triple and Henderson sank a free throw to make it 55-49 with 9:24 remaining. 


Despite losing the lead, Penn College stayed within striking distance for the next several minutes until Eccleston and George came through with back-to-back 3-balls that stretched the lead to eight at the 4:30 mark. The Lions got a couple of stops on the other end before Thomas and Spencer added layups and Moore connected on a jumper, expanding the lead to 14 and putting things out of reach with less than two minutes to play. 


NOTABLES
- Saturday's win was Penn State Harrisburg's fifth in a row.
- The Lions had a rough shooting day from the foul line and from beyond the arc but offset it by getting off 20 more field goal attempts than Penn College. 
- Penn State Harrisburg forced 24 turnovers and scored 27 points off Wildcat miscues.
- The Lions won the rebounding battle 41-28. 
- Spencer nearly recorded a double-double with nine points, 10 rebounds and four steals.
- Henderson finished with a game-high 13 points. 
- Moore tallied 12 points and six boards. 
- George added 10 points, six rebounds, three blocks and three steals in a reserve role.
- Eccleston chipped in with 10 points off the bench. 
- Leddo dished-out a game-high five assists to go along with four points and four boards. 
- Maurice Davis contributed with seven points and six rebounds. 
- Thomas swiped a game-high five steals. 


WHO'S NEXT?
The Lions continue conference play when they host United East foe Valley Forge on Wednesday night.


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