Box Score
ANNVILLE, Pa. – Lebanon Valley outscored Ursinus 41-28 in the second half to erase a two-point halftime deficit and the Flying Dutchmen earned a 70-59 non-conference victory Sunday afternoon at the LVC Gymnasium.
Senior guard J.D. Byers (Westminster, Md./Westminster) scored a game-high 25 points to lead LVC (3-1) while senior forward Steve Buzinski (West Pittston, Pa./Wyoming) added a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Senior center Brad Stigelman (Millersville, Pa./Penn Manor) also reached double figures in scoring, notching a season-high 11 points.
Junior guard Mike McGarvey paced Ursinus (2-2) with 12 points while junior guard Bret Jenkins had 10 points. Junior forward Joe Scholz added a game-high 13 rebounds, with 11 coming in the first half.
The Dutchmen shot 51.9% (14-for-27) from the floor during the second half.
Byers also had five assists, five rebounds, and six steals while knocking down five three-point baskets. He is now four threes shy of tying the Lebanon Valley career record of 236 held by Mike Rhoades '95.
Ursinus kept the Dutchmen off the scoreboard over the game's opening 3:28, as LVC missed its first five shots. However, the Bears were also cold in the early going, as they went through a 4:05 scoreless spell in which they were 0-for-7 from the floor. The two teams combined for just 13 points over the first 6:47 and Ursinus led 9-4 with 13:13 left in the opening half.
The LVC offense began to click midway through the period and the Dutchmen used a 12-3 run, capped by a conventional three-point play from Buzinski, to take a 16-12 lead with 9:13 on the clock. Lebanon Valley enjoyed an eight-point lead (27-19) with 3:27 left in the period, but Ursinus ended the half on a 12-2 run and took a 31-29 lead into the locker room.
Both teams struggled offensively over the first 20 minutes, with Ursinus shooting just 37.9% and the Dutchmen making 39.4% of their shots. The Bears out-rebounded LVC 24-14 in the opening period.
The Bears scored the first four points of the second half to assume their largest lead of the game (35-29) 1:08 into the stanza. But that's when Byers and the Dutchmen started heating up, as LVC drilled four consecutive three-pointers en route to a 12-0 run that swung the six-point lead in Lebanon Valley's favor. Byers canned three straight threes before sophomore guard Jimmy Curran (Allentown, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) connected from beyond the arc and the Dutchmen led 41-35 with 16:00 to go. Lebanon Valley would never trail the rest of the way.
A 5-0 spurt from Ursinus made it a one-point game (47-46) with 11:39 remaining, but that's as close as the Bears would get. Ursinus trailed by six (65-59) with 1:12 left following one of four McGarvey three-pointers, but Byers iced the game for LVC with four free throws in the final 30 seconds.
Lebanon Valley returns to action on Wednesday, when it hosts Albright College at 7:30 p.m. in the Dutchmen's Commonwealth Conference opener.
[Photo - Senior center Brad Stigelman, who scored 11 points in Lebanon Valley's 70-59 win over Ursinus on Sunday]
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