Story details courtesy of the Penn State Harrisburg Sports Information Department
GUILFORD, N.C. - The Penn State Harrisburg men’s basketball team defeated Hood College, 72-67, Friday evening in the opening round of the 2024 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. This win marks the third-straight First Round win for the Lions and the fourth year in a row that a United East team has made it out of the opening day.
The Lions will now take on host Guilford College in the Second Round. That game will tip off at 8 PM
Donyae Baylor-Carroll battled through foul trouble to finish with 18 points, four assists, four rebounds, and a pair of steals, while Nate Curry netted a game-high 20 points and grabbed five boards. Malik Holland (11) and Isaiah Eggleston (10) also reached the double-digit scoring mark.
After sitting for nearly seven minutes of the second half with four fouls, Baylor-Carroll came up clutch when he buried the go-ahead step-back jumper from just inside the arc with a hand in his face to put the Lions (25-4) ahead for good at 66-65 with 36 seconds to play.
After the Blazers (19-7) missed a potential go-ahead jump shot the next time down the floor, Milien came up with a key offensive rebound with 16 ticks remaining and converted a pair of foul shots after being intentionally fouled. Curry had ice water in his veins from the charity stripe in crunch time, connecting on four free throws in the final 15 seconds to put it out of reach.
Penn State Harrisburg held a 41-31 lead at halftime but Hood used a barrage of 3-balls to open the second half to erase the double-digit deficit and pull ahead 44-43 with 15:20 left to play. A Holland triple and a Curry free throw put the Lions back out in front at 47-44 at the 14:08 mark but four Blazer 3-pointers over the next five and a half minutes put Hood back on top 58-49 with eight and a half remaining.
The Lions trailed 60-51 as late as the 6:34 mark but a Lance Douglas free throw and a much-needed corner 3-ball from Eggleston cut the deficit to five. After a Hood bucket, Curry and Baylor-Carroll combined for four free throws before DBC came through with a deep 3-pointer from the wing to tie things up at 62-62 with 2:52 to play.
After the Blazers were unable to answer, Curry was fouled and hit both of his free throws to put Penn State Harrisburg back in front at the 2:26 mark. Hood had one last arrow in the quiver, however, and Garrett Cox nailed a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:44 remaining but the Blazers had no answer for Baylor-Carroll's heroics in the final minute.
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The United East boasts 17 NCAA Division III full member institutions which include: Bryn Athyn College, Cairn University, Cedar Crest College, Clarks Summit University, Gallaudet University, Keystone College, Lancaster Bible College, Notre Dame of Maryland University, Penn College, Penn State Abington, Penn State Berks, Penn State Harrisburg, Rosemont College, Saint Elizabeth University, St. Mary's College of Maryland, University of Valley Forge, and Wilson College. For more information, please visit gounitedeast.com.