ARLINGTON, Va.— The Marymount (Va.) University men's basketball team fell behind late in a physical matchup against Penn State University-Harrisburg on Wednesday night in the Verizon Sports Arena, dropping an 82-75 decision in Capital Athletic Conference play. 

The Lions struck first to take the lead at 2-0, but senior Colin Burkhart quickly answered with a free throw, followed by a layup by sophomore Dimitri Rucker to give the Saints their first lead.

Both teams battled back and forth trading points through most of the first half. Marymount saw its biggest lead of eight points with 9:54 left in the first half after back-to-back layups by senior Rick Narcisse and Burkhart. The Lions fought their way back to reclaim the lead at the break following a quick transition layup at the buzzer for the 36-34 advantage. Junior Pat Dumais racked up seven points in the first half to pace the Saints.

Burkhart struck first at the restart to tie the game at 34 apiece. The Saints regained the advantage less than three minutes into the half after Narcisse drove his way down the lane for the strong finish at the bucket. Both teams traded points for the next ten minutes before the Saints gained some breathing room. With 10 minutes left on the clock, Marymount went on a 7-0 run after back-to-back layups by freshman Tyler Beale and junior Jesse Longmire, along with a crowd-roaring three-pointer by senior Danny Ferry. 

The battle didn't end there, as the Lions tied the game again at 61 with less than five minutes left in regulation. Ferry was sent to the line several times down the stretch, sinking two free throws the first time to give the Saints the lead and sinking two more later to draw the score ever at 66-66 with just over three minutes remaining.

The Lions, however, used 11-for-12 shooting from the free throw line in the last three minutes of the game to seal up the win.

Marymount's offense was led by Ferry with a game-high 23 points followed by Narcisse and sophomore D'Ondre Stockman with 12 points apiece. Stockman also racked up seven rebounds for the Saints.

The men's squad will continue conference play at home in the Verizon Sports Arena on Saturday, January 16, as they take on the University of Mary Washington. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.