Box Score

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – Junior guard Evan Harlor (Danville, Pa./Danville) scored a game and career-high 27 points and Lebanon Valley held off a furious Elizabethtown rally in a 79-77 Flying Dutchmen victory Saturday afternoon in Commonwealth Conference men's basketball action at Thompson Gymnasium.

LVC (11-12, 6-6 CC) won its third Commonwealth game in a row and inched to within a half game of Juniata College for fourth place in the conference standings. Juniata (6-5 CC) visits Albright College at 8 p.m. Saturday evening.

The win buried LVC's six-game losing streak against the Blue Jays and ended a three-game skid at E-town.

Harlor shot 10-for-15 for the game and 5-for-9 from three-point range.

With 18 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, senior center Darren Pugh (Shippensburg, Pa./Shippensburg) logged his sixth straight double-double and his 14th of the season. He also tied a career-high four blocked shots. Sophomore guard J.D. Byers (Westminster, Md./Westminster) added 15 points and a game-high seven assists.

Senior guard Brian Loftus paced the Blue Jays with 16 points.

The Dutchmen led by 16 (76-60) after Byers nailed a three-pointer with 6:09 left. However, that turned out to the Valley's last field goal of the game. LVC managed just four shots the rest of the way and missed all four attempts. In the meantime, the Blue Jays made seven of their final 12 shots while outscoring the Dutchmen 17-3 to close the game.

A pair of free throws by sophomore guard Kyle Conrad brought Elizabethtown to within single digits (78-70) with 2:45 left and a lay-up from sophomore forward Dan Keane with 1:02 to go made it a one-possession game (78-75). After a turnover by Harlor, Conrad converted a lay-up with 25 seconds left to bring the Blue Jays to within one. E-town then put Byers at the foul line, where he made 1-of-2 with 13 seconds left to snap a 15-0 Blue Jay run.

Elizabethtown had a chance to tie the game on its next trip down the floor, but a lay-up from Conrad would not fall. Freshman forward Dave Kasyan (Toms River, N.J./Toms River East) snared the rebound with one second left for LVC.

Lebanon Valley shot 50.9% for the game and 53.3% (8-for-15) from three-point range. However, the Dutchmen connected on just 55.6% (15-of-27) of their shots from the foul line and missed 5-of-6 free throws in the final 1:09.

The Dutchmen came out on fire in the first half and took a 44-38 lead into the locker room after shooting a blistering 60.7% from the field. Harlor had the hot hand in the opening period, scoring a game-high 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc.

LVC jumped to an early 9-2 lead following a lay-up from Kasyan. E-town responded with a 10-2 run, capped by a jumper from sophomore forward Andrew Flynn, as the Jays took their first lead of the game (12-11) with 15:01 left in the opening half. E-town led 23-22 with 8:44 left following a lay-up by Keane, but a Pugh lay-up 20 seconds later put the Valley ahead for good.

Lebanon Valley will carry its playoff hopes to Huntingdon, Pa. on Tuesday, when it visits Juniata at 8 p.m. in the second game of a men's and women's doubleheader.

[Photo - Senior guard Evan Harlor, who scored a career-high 27 points in LVC's win at E-town on Saturday]

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