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ANNVILLE, Pa. - Few teams get the chance to say they ended the season with some championship hardware. Lebanon Valley did just that Sunday, rolling past Catholic 74-61 to capture the 2011 ECAC South Tournament championship.
Behind 22 points and eight assists from most outstanding player
Joe Meehan and an electric 26-point day from
Anthony Trautman in his final career game, the Dutchmen (23-7) finished their season on a high note with their first ECAC title since 2003-04.
Trautman canned all six of his three-point attempts as LVC went 11-for-19 (57.9%) from beyond the arc as they blew open the game in the second half. The senior capped off a brilliant season averaging 20.1 points per game with 83 three-pointers.
Meanwhile, Meehan went 10-for-14 from the line and scored 14 of his 22 in the second half. Meehan also finishes the season with 64 steals, setting a new single-season record at LVC (Fred Siebecker nabbed 63 in 1984-85).
Catholic's Jason Banzhaf and Chris Kearney each scored 14 to lead the Cardinals (21-9), who were held to 34.5% shooting in the second half as LVC pulled away.
The Dutchmen also held a 39-37 rebounding edge on a much taller Catholic team, led by guard
Jordan Stewart's 10 defensive boards and six apiece by Trautman,
Grant Becker, and
Joey Giangiobbe. LVC had an impressive 21 assists on 25 field goals, with six players recording at least two helpers.
Lebanon Valley got off to a hot start, hitting a 10-0 run early in the game to break a 9-9 tie as Stewart and Trautman traded three-pointers around Meehan's foul shots. Catholic cut into the lead to end the half, however, getting as close as three before Trautman's half-ending layup made it 36-31 Valley.
LVC broke open a free-flowing second half with a 7-0 run started by
Sean MacIntosh's three-pointer and four points from Meehan at the line, and eventually extended their lead to 20 when
Danny Brooks' layup fell with 6:03 remaining.
Catholic never got back into the game, and LVC seniors
Zach Kebetz, Trautman, Becker, and MacIntosh had the opportunity to come off the court to a standing ovation and with some championship hardware.
