MIDDLETOWN, Pa. - Penn State Harrisburg's men's basketball team remained unbeaten in conference play thanks to an 87-66 victory over United East foe Valley Forge at the Capital Union Building on Wednesday night, Jan. 21.


Justin Leddo led the way with a team-high 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field. Elija Eccleston tallied 13 points and four rebounds off the bench, while Kevin Lucas Jr. added 10 points and five rebounds in a reserve role. Dylan Moore was the fourth player to reach double figures with 11 points.


After a back-and-forth start, the Lions (12-7, 8-0 United East) began to create some separation thanks to back-to-back buckets from Eccleston and a free throw from Lucas. David Reed IV hammered home a jam off a feed from Lucas to stretch the lead to seven and the home team used a 9-0 spurt to take its largest lead of the first half at 31-17 with 7:17 remaining before the break. 


The Patriots (4-12, 1-6 United East) responded with a run of their own and cut the deficit to four before a 3-ball from Andre Thomas III and another Eccleston layup give Penn State Harrisburg a 42-33 advantage at halftime. 


Valley Forge refused to go away, however, and eventually closed the gap to four again with 14:57 left to play. Jordan Spencer ended the run with a pair of free throws and sparked a monster 19-0 spurt that included an Antwone George dunk and a 3-ball from Eccleston. With the lead suddenly ballooned to 20-plus, Leddo finished a pass off the backboard from Eccleston with a two-handed jam to put an exclamation point on the second half outburst.


NOTABLES
- The Lions won the rebounding battle 42-28 and scored 46 points in the paint. 
- Penn State Harrisburg's bench accounted for 58 points. 
- Leddo shot 72.7 percent from the field en route to a game-high 17 points. 
- Eccleston finished with 13 points and four rebounds.
- Moore tallied 11 points.
- Lucas racked up 10 points, five assists and three boards off the bench. 
- George and Spencer each grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. 


WHO'S NEXT?
The Lions face a tough test when they travel to Cairn for a key conference matchup on Saturday 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.