Box Score

ANNVILLE, Pa. – The Lebanon Valley College men's basketball team celebrated its first game in the new LVC Gymnasium with a convincing 67-51 Commonwealth Conference victory over Messiah College on Saturday afternoon.

Ironically, the Flying Dutchmen also defeated Messiah in the their final game in Lynch Gymnasium, the team's home venue from 1950-2003, last February.

Lebanon Valley (4-2, 2-0 CC) was led by junior guard J.D. Byers (Westminster, Md./Westminster), who scored a team-high 18 points and handed out a game and season-high seven assists. Byers also went 6-for-6 at the foul line, and he has now made his last 23 free throws spanning over the team's last four games.

Junior forward Dave Henninger scored a game-high 21 points to pace Messiah (3-3, 1-1 CC).

Senior guard Evan Harlor (Danville, Pa./Danville) added 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting for LVC while junior center Brad Stigelman (Millersville, Pa./Penn Manor) went 5-for-7 from the floor en route to an 11-point game. Junior forward Steve Buzinski (West Pittston, Pa./Wyoming) pulled down eight rebounds to tie a career-high.

LVC out-rebounded Messiah 44-31 and held the Falcons to 26.2% shooting. Messiah made just 14.3% (3-for-15) of its three-point attempts.

The Flying Dutchmen shot a season-high 51.0% from the field. The Valley overcame a poor night at the free throw line, however, shooting a season-low 54.5% (12-of-22).

The first half was a back-and-forth affair that featured six ties and nine lead changes. Stigelman scored the gym's first basket when he converted a layup off a feed from Byers 20 seconds into the game to give LVC a 2-0 lead.

Neither side led by more than three during the opening stanza, and the teams were tied 26-26 at the intermission.

Byers hit a jump shot 2:17 seconds into the second half to give LVC a 28-26 lead, and LVC would never trail the rest of the way. The Falcons trailed by only four (36-32) with 13:21 left before Lebanon Valley went on a decisive 15-4 run over the next 4:33. Byers and Harlor combined to score 13 points during the run as the Valley took a commanding 51-36 lead with 8:48 to go.

Lebanon Valley pushed its advantage to as much as 21 (63-42) with 3:38 left.

The Dutchmen pick up their schedule next Saturday when they host non-conference rival Franklin & Marshall College at 4 p.m. in the second game of a men's and women's doubleheader.

[Photo - Junior forward Steve Buzinski, who tied a career-high with eight rebounds against Messiah on Saturday]

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