January 26th, 2009

Second Half Comeback Fuels Nittany Lions to Victory

MIDDLETOWN, PA - Penn State Harrisburg men´s basketball team´s second half comeback shoots the Nittany Lions pass the visiting Wildcats of Cazenovia, 89-79. With this win, the blue and white improve to 6-10 overall with the Wildcats falling to 4-11 on the season.

The Lions´ first half consisted of a 24.4 shooting percentage, a 28.6 three point percentage and a 70 percent free throw percentage which contributed to the Lions´ 31-42 halftime deficit. As for the Wildcats they were shooting 52.9 percent from the field and had five players with at least six or more points before halftime.

The blue and white came out at halftime on an 18-5 run powered by sophomore Brian Barry (Annville-Cleona/Annville, PA) who scored 10 out the Lions´ 18 points during that span. After a Wildcat layup from Pete Marshall to tie up the game for the sixth time, the Nittany Lions would go on an 11-2 run to put them up by nine with 8:02 remaining in the game. Cazenovia would pull it within four with 6:05 remaining, but the Lions were determined to make this comeback complete scoring 16 points to Cazenovia´s 10 points, to ensure the 89-79 victory.

For the second home game in a row, Penn State Harrisburg was able to get four out of their five starters in double digits led by Cole McGuire(Susquenita/Duncannon, PA) with a career high 34 points. McGuire shot 10-for-22 from the field, 3-for-4 from behind the arc and 11-for-13 from the charity stripe. Coming off a career high game, Kenton Alston (Steelton-Highspire/Steelton, PA) tailed 16 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and two blocks. Barry finished with 16 points, shooting 7-for-12 from the field and added five rebounds. Shane Woodman (Donegal/Mt. Joy, PA) chipped in with 11 points, five rebounds and two steals. Joey Fried (Hershey/Hershey, PA) added 10 points and six rebounds in the Nittany Lion victory.

Cazenovia College was led by Jobe Zulu with 14 points and three rebounds. Marshall finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. Alex Baker chipped in with 13 points, six rebounds and three steals. Kevin Watson tailed nine points and 11 rebounds. Stephen Harris added 11 points. The blue and white will return Wednesday night to face off against rival Penn State Berks. Tipoff is at 8:00 P.M.