ST. MARY’S CITY, Md. – The battle between the final two United East Conference unbeaten came down to the wire and first-year forward Isaiah Eggleston (Rocky Mount, Va./Carlisle School) was up to the challenge on Tuesday night in front of an electric crowd. Eggleston converted a driving layup with 2.8 seconds on the clock to propel the St. Mary’s College of Maryland men’s basketball team to a 74-73 come-from-behind victory over Penn State Harrisburg.
The victory moves St. Mary’s College (10-5, 9-0 UEC) to No. 1 in the United East team standings while Harrisburg (16-2, 9-1 UEC) suffers its first conference loss of 2022 and sees its win streak snapped at 13. This was also the Lions’ first road loss of the season.
How It Happened
- Harrisburg’s Donyae Baylor-Carroll scored the first eight points of a 14-4 run over a four-minute span before capping off the run with a layup to build back an eight-point lead (72-64) with 1:50 remaining in regulation.
- The Seahawks maintained their hustle, clawing away at the visitor’s lead first with a triple by senior guard Seth Jones (Baltimore, Md./Baltimore Polytechnic Institute) at 00:39 and then with five straight points from junior guard Daryn Alexander (Twinbrook, Md./Richard Montgomery) to pull his team within 73-72 with 21 seconds to go.
- First-year guard Olumide Lewis (Greenbelt, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) stole the ball from Baylor-Carroll with 12 seconds left and went for the layup but was blocked by Zegary Scott III. A jump ball was called on the contested rebound and the possession arrow favored St. Mary’s College with 7.8 on the clock.
- Alexander inbounded the ball to Jones at the top of the circle, who then found Eggleston to his left and Eggleston did the rest, driving in for the game-winning layup with 2.8 left in the game.
- The Lions weren’t down and out quite yet as Nate Curry inbounded the ball to Brandon Coleman near midcourt who then dribbled a few steps before passing it down low to Dylan Daniels, but his dunk was a shy bit after the buzzer and St. Mary’s College squeaked out the one-point victory.
Inside the Box Score
- It was back-and-forth action all night and the game featured nine lead changes and six tied scores.
- Harrisburg owned a 33-23 halftime advantage as the Lions benefitted from 14 points off 11 turnovers by the hosts.
- St. Mary’s College finished the game shooting 39.7-percent from the field, knocking down a season-best 12 triples for the third time this season.
- Eggleston poured in a season-best 23 points as he was 9-of-12 from the field with three three-pointers. He also grabbed a season-high eight rebounds.
- Alexander recorded his fourth straight double-digit scoring game with 17 as he went 5-of-7 from downtown while adding five boards and a season-best five assists.
- First-year guard Elijah Crawford (Oxon Hill, Md./Potomac) also scored in double figures for the Seahawks with 15 points on the night.
- Harrisburg outrebounded SMCM, 45-37, as Coleman, Daniels, and Curry all hauled in eight caroms.
- The Lions shot 41.8-percent for the game but missed 13 free throws (23-36).
- Baylor-Carroll, a preseason D3hoops.com All-America Second Team selection, dropped a game-high 29 points while Coleman contributed 23 and Curry chipped in 11 to round out the double-digit scorers for the Lions.
Up Next for the Seahawks
- Feb. 4 at SUNY Morrisville (5-13, 2-7 UEC) – Morrisville, N.Y. – 5:00 p.m.
- Feb. 5 at Wells (12-8, 6-5 UEC) – Aurora, N.Y. – 1:00 p.m.