Busy week for Central Penn men's basketball
By Daylin Davis, Student Reporter
Central Penn men’s basketball team finished five consecutive games with a 3-2 record. Two of those games were against NCAA Division I schools, University of Baltimore College and Winthrop University. The other three were against USCAA conference opponents.
Prior to Williamson Trade, Central Penn defeated Penn State Worthington Scranton. The following day, the Knights headed to Philadelphia to face rival Williamson Trade. The game started off shaky for Central Penn with 5 lead changes in the first half. Williamson Trade managed to cut the Knights lead to six points at the end of the first half (29-23).
In the second half, Central Penn took a different approach defensively, causing Williamson to turn the ball over 25 times. Coach David Archer’s aggressive play calling held the Mechanics to 33.3 percent (14-of-42) shooting from the floor. The final score was 75-50 with the Knights outscoring Williamson 46-27 in the second half.
Daylin Davis led the Knights with 15 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks. Joel Zola added 14 points and Noah Baylor 10 points.
Central Penn hit the road again to visit Baltimore, MD, and face NCAA Division I University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), of the American East Conference. From the tip-off the Retrievers separated themselves from the Knights, with a 17-5 run in the first ten minutes of the game. Eventually, Central Penn started to tack points on the board, but it wasn’t enough to stop UMBC.
UMBC's Max Curran scored a career-high 21 points and added 10 rebounds to lead his team to an 93-62 victory over Central Penn. UMBC out rebounded the Knights 46-27 and shot 53 percent from the floor.
Daylin Davis added 14 points and 5 rebounds for Central Penn, while Joel Zola added 10 points (shown above with a breakaway slam dunk).
Central Penn returned to Enola, Pa., for their home opener against Penn State Lehigh Valley that following Friday. This was a competitive game from the tip-off for the Knights. Penn State Lehigh Valley held a four-point lead for the first five minutes of the first half.
Central Penn readjusted their game plan at the half and pulled off an 80-68 victory over Penn State Lehigh Valley.
The Knights home opener ended around ten thirty that night and less than twenty-four hours later, they were back on the road to play in South Carolina against Division I Winthrop University, of the Big South Conference.
Winthrop defeated Central Penn 106-65. The 2017 Big South basketball tournament champions displayed their prowess in Saturday's battle against Central Penn. Winthrop made a school record 19 three-points from behind the arc.
Kyle Zunic lead the Eagles with 17 points and 4 assists. Three Knights scored double digit figures against Winthrop University. Zola posted a game-high 20 points and 3 blocks. Juwan Gooding added 18 points, with 5 rebounds and Randy Dupont had 12 points and 4 rebounds.
“I’m so proud of this team. There's no other team I’d rather be with,” says head coach Archer. “We have a team who competes at a high level showing what Central Penn is all about, despite finishing 3-2 over a long week.”
During this run of games, the Central Penn Knights played 5 games in 5 days and traveled more than 1800 miles.
The Central Penn Knights are back on the road against Penn State Mont Alto on Nov. 21 at 8 p.m.