MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – Penn State Harrisburg's men's basketball team closed out the weekend with a 72-65 victory over Eastern in the final game of the Penn State Harrisburg Tip-Off Classic presented by Comfort Inn & Suites Harrisburg Airport - Hershey South at the Capital Union Building on Sunday afternoon, Nov. 8.
Dylan Moore netted a team-high 16 points, grabbed six rebounds, and swiped five steals. He was named the Penn State Harrisburg Tip-Off Classic most valuable player for his efforts. Jordan Spencer flirted with a double-double and finished with 11 points and eight boards, while David Reed IV shot 85.7 percent from the floor en route to scoring 14 points. Antwone George added 11 points off the bench and Andre Thomas III dished out a game-high five assists.
Eastern (1-1) jumped out to an 11-7 lead early in the opening half but the Lions (2-0) responded with a quick 6-0 run, punctuated by a monstrous breakaway, alley-oop slam from Moore off a lob from Thomas at the 11:25 mark. After the Eagles pulled ahead two minutes later, Penn State Harrisburg used a 9-0 spurt that included back-to-back buckets from George to pull back in front 23-15 with 5:28 left in the half before taking a 29-25 lead into the break.
The Lions scored the first six points of the second half, including a pair of Moore jumpers and two Thomas free throws, to stretch the advantage to double figures for the first time. Reed converted two straight layups to make it 39-28 with 16:05 left and a George 3-ball kept the lead at 11 with 9:47 remaining.
The Eagles clawed back and eventually cut the deficit to 55-52 with 5:25 left to play. Moore responded with a fadeaway jumper but two free throws from Eastern made it a one-possession game again at the 4:30 mark. Reed led the ensuing charge for Penn State Harrisburg with a layup off a find from Irby Hunter and two free throws that stretched the lead to seven with 3:39 remaining.
The visitors made one last push to pull to within three with less than two minutes to play but the Lions converted nine free throws in the final 110 seconds and added a breakaway slam from Spencer following a steal from Moore to put the finishing touches on the win and wrap up the undefeated weekend.
NOTABLES
- Moore racked up 16 points, six rebounds, and five steals. He was named the Penn State Harrisburg Tip-Off Classic MVP.
- Spencer flirted with a double-double, finishing with 11 points and eight boards. He was named to the all-classic team for his efforts.
- Reed went 6-of-7 from the field and scored 14 points to go along with four rebounds.
- George added a spark off the bench with 11 points.
- Thomas had eight points, five assists, and four steals.
- Chris Henderson Jr. added seven points and three steals.
- Hunter chipped in with five points and four rebounds off the bench.
- Penn State Harrisburg won the rebounding battle 31-28.
- The Lions swiped 14 steals on the day.
- Penn State Harrisburg's bench outscored the Eastern reserves 16-10.
WHO'S NEXT?
The Lions travel to Ohio for next weekend's John Carroll Tournament. Penn State Harrisburg faces Carnegie Mellon on Saturday before closing out the weekend against (RV) John Carroll on Sunday afternoon.
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can keep up with Penn State Harrisburg Athletics all season long on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube using the handle @pshbgathletics.
