READING, Pa. – The Albright men's basketball team hung tough during a strong second-half run by Penn State Harrisburg to defeat the Nittany Lions, 91-85, on the first day of the Crowne Plaza Holiday Tournament. DeJuan Smith poured in 25 points for the Lions, and Fred Rowles added a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Smith scored 13 of his points in the second half, and he put the final nail in the coffin of Harrisburg (4-6) with a jumper from the right wing with just 21 seconds to play. That basket gave the Lions an 89-85 lead. Smith added a defensive rebound on Harrisburg's next possession and two more free throws to seal the deal. 

For much of the game, it seemed that the result wouldn't come down the last minute after Albright (9-1) got off to a strong start. Albright had a 44-32 lead at halftime after it forced 14 first-half turnovers while converting them into 17 points. The big push in the first half came with an 8-0 run in less than two minutes early in the half. Back-to-back three pointers from Garrett Oplinger and Smith made it 21-15 Albright, and Rowles scored on a fast-break layup with 12:06 to play to move the lead to 23-15.

The Lion's 12-point halftime lead expanded to a game-high 19 points with 14:38 to play off another Rowles basket to make it 59-40. That followed Brandon Lindsay three pointers on back-to-back possessions just a minute earlier.

Harrisburg fought back with a 19-4 run from that point until a Chris Bing layup made it 63-59 Albright with 10:25 to play. It was about that time that both teams entered the double bonus, making free throws a crucial part of play from that point forward.

After shooting a combined seven free throws in the first half, the teams combined to shoot 50 in the second half. The teams were nearly identical from the line, though, with Penn State Harrisburg shooting 75.9 percent (22-of-29) and Albright shooting 75 percent (21-of-28) for the game.

Harrisburg managed to pull even with a three pointer to make it 76-76 with 5:52 to play, but a technical foul for taunting erased the tie when Samuel Majekodunmi sank both technical shots. Though the Albright lead never strayed above a two-possession game from that point on, the Lions never lost the lead again following the technical.

Majekodunmi finished with 18 points including a 9-of-10 showing from the free throw line. Lindsay had 14 points. Kahlil Williams led Harrisburg with 25 points on 11-of-13 shooting.

In the day's first game, The College of New Jersey topped Kenyon, 87-70. Kenyon with face Penn State Harrisburg in the consolation game tomorrow at 2 p.m. Albright will host TCNJ in the championship game at 4 p.m.