Box Score

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Junior guard J.D. Byers (Westminster, Md./Westminster) and senior guard Evan Harlor (Danville, Pa./Danville) scored a team-high 17 points apiece as the Flying Dutchmen picked up an 80-70 victory over host Moravian College in Commonwealth Conference men’s basketball action Tuesday evening at Johnston Hall.

LVC’s win, coupled with Albright’s victory over Widener on Tuesday, gives the Dutchmen (14-8, 8-3 CC) sole possession of first place in the Commonwealth Conference standings with three regular season games remaining on their schedule.

Harlor, who has not missed a game for LVC in his career, played in his 100th straight game and is now just seven points away from reaching the 1,000-point milestone. He can become the 28th player in school history and the second this season to achieve the feat when the Dutchmen take on Elizabethtown on Saturday.

Moravian (10-12, 2-9 CC) was led by junior forward Brandon Zaleski, who scored a game-high 21 points. Sophomore forward Zach Zsilavecz scored 14 points for the Greyhounds while senior guard Steve Weiler added 11.

Lebanon Valley is now 5-0 on the season in Commonwealth Conference road games.

Byers’ 17 points extended his career total to 1,143, pushing him past Darren Pugh ’03 for 15th on the Valley’s all-time list.

The Dutchmen recorded a season-best shooting performance from both the field (60.9%) and at the foul line (88.9%, 16-for-18). LVC shot a blistering 84.2% (16-of-19) in the second half in which it outscored the Greyhounds 51-38. The Valley missed its first and last free throws but made 16 straight in between. The Dutchmen also shot 50.0% (8-for-16) from beyond the arc.

Sophomore forward Dave Kasyan (Toms River, N.J./Toms River East) added 15 points for LVC on 6-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-5 marksmanship from three-point territory while sophomore forward Dan Hogan (Scranton, Pa./West Scranton) contributed 12 points and game-high eight rebounds. He shot 5-of-6 from the field. Junior forward Steve Buzinski (West Pittston, Pa./Wyoming) hit 4 of 5 shots and tossed in nine points.

Harlor added a season-high six rebounds for the Valley while Byers handed out a team-high five assists.

The Dutchmen broke the game open with a 7-1 run midway through the second half. With LVC leading 59-55, Harlor sparked the surge by converting a conventional three-point play with 8:48 to go to make it 62-55, giving LVC its largest lead of the night up to that point. Harlor then dropped in a layup with 7:24 on the clock, and junior guard Matt Polinski (Loyalhanna, Pa./Derry) hit a pair of free throws 24 seconds later to push the Valley’s lead (66-56) into double digits. Moravian was unable to reduce the deficit to less than eight the rest of the way.

Lebanon Valley controlled the game early, jumping out to a 7-3 lead and extending its margin to as much as six (15-9) midway through the half following Byers’ second three-pointer of the game. However, Moravian came back with a 10-0 run, capped by a put-back from sophomore forward Steve Wenderfer with 8:49 left in the half. The Greyhounds led by as much as four (23-19) with 5:58 to go when Zaleski hit a driving layup.

The rest of the half went back and forth, with two ties and two lead changes over the next three minutes. Moravian took a 32-29 lead into halftime with Zaleski scoring seven of the Greyhounds’ final 11 points.

Zaleski led all scorers with 11 points at the half while Byers had eight points at the intermission. Moravian out-rebounded LVC 22-15 in the opening stanza with 10 coming on the offensive glass.

LVC came out on fire in the second half, and an 8-0 run early in the period put the Dutchmen up by three (37-34) with 18:25 left. Moravian went ahead by one (38-37) following a three-pointer by senior guard Kevin Wyers with 17:36 to go, but Lebanon Valley took the lead for good when Byers dropped in a driving layup 14 seconds later, putting the Dutchmen on top 39-38.

The Greyhounds cut the lead to one on three occasions, the last coming after a layup from Zsilavecz with 13:27 to go, making it 48-47. But that’s as close as Moravian would get as the Dutchmen pulled away down the stretch.

Lebanon Valley returns to action on Saturday when it hosts Elizabethtown College at 2 p.m. in the first game of a men’s and women’s doubleheader. LVC will hold both Senior Day and Hot Dog Frank day as the Dutchmen take on the Blue Jays.

[Photo - Sophomore forward Dan Hogan, who had 12 points and a game-high eight rebounds against Moravian on Tuesday]

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