Box Score
ANNVILLE, Pa. – Senior forward Steve Erfle banked in a the go-ahead basket from the right post with 10 seconds left in regulation and Ursinus defeated Lebanon Valley 69-68 in non-conference men’s basketball action Sunday afternoon in Lynch Gymnasium.
LVC (2-2) called a timeout with seven seconds left but junior guard Jay Leader (Halifax, Pa./Halifax) misfired on a close-range jumper just before the buzzer.
Senior center Dan Luciano led Ursinus (3-1) with 21 points and 15 rebounds while Erfle notched 17 points and 11 boards. Sophomore guard J.D. Byers (Westminster, Md./Westminster) scored a season-high 21 points for the Valley while backcourt mate Evan Harlor (Danville, Pa./Danville) added 14 points.
Lebanon Valley trailed for most of the second half until Leader canned a three-pointer with 1:29 to go, giving the Flying Dutchmen a 66-64 lead. Erfle answered for Ursinus eight seconds later with a pair of free throws after John Sharkey (Reading, Pa./Reading Central Catholic) fouled out. Byers put LVC back on top with a jumper in the lane, giving the Valley a 68-66 edge with 57 seconds left.
Senior center Darren Pugh (Shippensburg, Pa./Shippensburg) picked up his fifth foul with 46 seconds left, and Luciano hit 1-of-2 free throws to make it 68-67 in favor of LVC. The Dutchmen had a chance to extend its lead after Byers was fouled with 28 seconds to go but Byers missed the front end of a one-on-one, setting up Erfle’s game-winning shot.
LVC led by as much as eight (23-15) midway though the first half after a three-pointer by freshman forward Dave Kasyan (Toms River, N.J./Toms River East). But Luciano and junior guard Dennis Stanton keyed a 17-1 Ursinus run over a 6:20 span as the Bears took a 32-24 lead with 1:49 left in the opening half. Stanton and Luciano combined for 15 points during the run to help give the Bears their biggest lead of the game.
The Dutchmen ended the half on a 7-2 run to cut the gap to 34-31 at halftime.
Stanton led all scorers with 15 points at the half but was held to no points and just two shots in the second stanza. However, Erfle scored 14 of his points in the second half.
Pugh finished with seven points and 15 rebounds for Lebanon Valley while Sharkey ended the game with 11 points.
Lebanon Valley shot 40.7 percent (11-of-27) from beyond the arc but managed only five points at the foul line. Ursinus made 44.4 percent of its shots from the field and scored 16 points at the charity stripe.
The Dutchmen open their 2002-03 Commonwealth Conference schedule on Wednesday when they host Susquehanna University at 8 p.m.
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