WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- Penn College fell, 77-61 to Penn State Harrisburg in a United East men's basketball matchup on Saturday afternoon inside Bardo Gymnasium. The Wildcats suffered their first conference loss, 3-1 and fell to 5-8 overall while the Nittany Lions improved to 4-1 UE, 7-6 overall.

How it happened: The Wildcats and Nittany Lions played through four ties and nine lead changes in the opening 20 minutes of action. Penn College got out to a quick 7-2 lead with a pair of Michael Woolridge layups and a Ronn Flood Jr., triple. Harrisburg responded with a 5-0 run to tie the game before Livingston Cross slowed the run with a three from a Christian Chandler assist.  

The two sides traded blows for the next eight minutes until a pair of DJ Smith III layups on back-to-back Wildcat possessions gave the home side a 24-19 lead midway through the half. 

The Wildcats and Nittany Lions continued to battle through three lead changes until Cross hit an unassisted bucket and converted two free throws with under a minute left tied the game at 34-34. Harrisburg hit a layup with 22 seconds left to take a slim 36-34 lead into halftime.

After Chandler hit a tough layup to give the Wildcats a 50-46 lead with 14 minutes to go, Harrisburg benefitted from a technical foul call on Chandler and went on a 16-4 run across the next six minutes to gain a 10-point lead, 62-52.

The Wildcats tried to cut into the deficit, but the Nittany Lions were able to hold off the home squad to the final buzzer.

Inside the box: Cross finished with a 12-point, 12 rebounds double-double. Flood, Jr. finished with a career-high 18 points on 7-10 shooting and four 3s to join Cross in double-digit scoring. Barrett finished with six points, seven rebounds, eight assists and three steals before fouling out. 

 Isaiah Eggleston (26) and Lance Douglas (24) led the Harrisburg offense. 

Up next: Penn College travels to Keystone on Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.