This past Monday night, the Penn State Harrisburg men’s basketball team concluded its second three game winning streak of the season with a win over Messiah, beating the Falcons 68-48 to improve to 6-1 on the season heading into December. Senior Dylan Daniels, who was one block shy of a triple double, led the Blue & White to victory with his 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 9 assists along with help from senior guard Donyae Baylor-Carroll’s game-high 15 points. So far, the two senior veterans have proven their dominance. Dylan Daniels is averaging 14 points-per-game, while shooting an impressive 62.7% from the field, along with 8 rebounds-per-game and 4.3 blocks.

“The emergence of Dylan Daniels has been so important to our mission. He’s really developed into an all-around 3-level scorer for us. He is a floor spacer and creates driving alleys for our players to attack. On the defensive side of the floor, he disrupts and blocks a great deal of shots for us. His contributions have really allowed our program to chase big dreams.” -Penn State Harrisburg men’s basketball Head Coach Donald Friday.

Donyae Baylor-Carroll has been the real star of the show this year for the Lions. Baylor-Carroll has become the sixth and fastest player in the program’s history to score 1,000 points, achieving the feat in only 60 games. He surpassed the 1,000-point mark in a clutch overtime win against Washington College (87-84) garnering him the NEAC Player of the Week. The PA native is averaging 17.6 points-per-game, 4.7 assists-per-game, and 2.6 steals while shooting 42.5% from the field.

“We have veteran players who know what this journey requires. They set the tone for us in the classroom, off the court, and in those high pressure situations.” -Head Coach Donald Friday.

Basketball is a team game and as a team the Nittany Lions have made their presence known. In their first 7 matchups, the Lions have only surrendered one game to the Delaware Valley Rams in the Marquette Tournament Championship game and are currently averaging 78 points-per-game as a team while shooting 47.3% from the field.

Defensively, they are limiting their  opponents to just 64.1 points-per-game and a field goal percentage of 38.1%.

“What makes that exciting is our identity at the defensive end. We are able to disrupt teams with our ball pressure and length when playing our zone.” -Head coach Donald Friday.

The 6-1 Nittany Lions look to continue their journey to playoffs Friday, December 10th at home against Wells College.