Penn State Harrisburg crowned 2020 NEAC Men's Basketball Champions
LATHAM, N.Y. – For the first time in program history, Penn State Harrisburg are the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Men’s Basketball Champions.
For the Lions, it completes the sweep of the NEAC Regular Season Championship and the NEAC tournament championship.
The host Lions and top seed from the South Division were making its third appearance in the NEAC title game and first since the 2011-12 season.
No. 2 South seed Lancaster Bible was playing in the title game for the sixth time in the previous seven seasons. It last won the title in the 2017-18 season.
Penn State Harrisburg will receive an automatic berth to the 2020 NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Tournament and will discover their opponent during Monday’s NCAA Division III selection show beginning at 12:30 p.m., via web stream on ncaa.com. The First Round is slated for Friday, March 6 with 16 hosts and 32 games.
No. 2 South seed Lancaster Bible 69, No. 1 South seed Penn State Harrisburg 76 (OT) (Boxscore)
In a back and forth contest, Penn State Harrisburg received big buckets from Donyae Baylor-Carroll (Harrisburg, Pa.) and Zegary Scott III (Jersey City, N.J.) to force overtime after trailing by five with 1:33 left in regulation.
In overtime, Scott and Baylor-Carroll scored on inside drives and Pedro Rodriguez (Palmyra, Pa.) got his own rebound for a put back hoop to give the Lions a 72-67 lead with 45 seconds left. After a tough jumper by the Chargers’ Luke Beers (Lancaster, Pa.), Baylor-Carroll drew a foul and made both foul shots to ice it at the Capital Union Building in Middletown, Pa. Saturday afternoon.
Penn State Harrisburg led 38-32 at the break, but a pair of free throws by Lancaster Bible’s Francis Mensah (Cape Coast, Ghana) tied it at 55 with 6:18 left.
Baylor-Carroll, a sophomore guard and the NEAC Player of the Year, led with 23 points, four assists, three steals and three rebounds.
Freshman guard and NEAC Rookie of the Year Nate Curry (Brooklyn, N.Y.) had 16 points, five rebounds and three steals. Sophomore guard Scott III recorded 16 points, four assists and three rebounds. Dylan Daniels (Clarksville, Md.) produced eight points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and a pair of steals.
Sophomore guard Jordan Shewbridge (New Holland, Pa.) countered with an impressive shooting performance scoring 30 points on 11 of 18 shooting and Beers finished his senior campaign with 19 points.
Lancaster Bible concluded its season with a 14-14 overall record. The Lions improved to 20-7.
The North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) has 12 NCAA Division III member institutions which include: Cazenovia College, Gallaudet University, Keuka College, Lancaster Bible College, Morrisville State, Penn College, Penn State Abington, Penn State Berks, Penn State Harrisburg, SUNY Cobleskill, SUNY Poly, and Wells College. Associate members are: Alfred State (M Lacrosse), Cedar Crest College (W Swimming), College of Saint Elizabeth (M Tennis & M Volleyball), D’Youville College (W Lacrosse), Hilbert College (M&W Lacrosse), Medaille College (M&W Lacrosse), Rutgers University – Camden (M Golf), SUNY Potsdam (M Volleyball) and Wilson College (M Volleyball). The NEAC has also partnered with the North Atlantic Conference in the sport of men’s tennis and women’s tennis. For more information, please visit: www.neacsports.com.