Box Score

ANNVILLE, Pa. – Junior guard J.D. Byers (Westminster, Md./Westminster) scored a game-high 26 points, but it wasn't enough as Elizabethtown College rallied to defeat Lebanon Valley 82-75 on Senior Day and Hot Dog Frank Day Saturday afternoon at the LVC Gymnasium in Commonwealth Conference men's basketball action.

Lebanon Valley (14-9, 8-4 CC) came into the game in sole possession of first place in the Commonwealth standings but its loss, coupled with Widener's 51-45 victory at Susquehanna on Saturday, moves the Valley into a tie with Widener for first place.

Elizabethtown (15-7, 7-5 CC), which won for the third time in its last four game, moved into fourth place in the conference standings with the victory.

The start of the game was delayed a half hour due to traveling difficulties experienced by Elizabethtown.

The Blue Jays were led by junior guard Jon Connor (Hershey, Pa./Hershey), who scored a team-high 19 points on 4-of-8 three-point shooting.

Senior guard Evan Harlor (Danville, Pa./Danville) finished with 11 points and became Lebanon Valley's 28th career 1,000-point scorer. Coming into the game needing seven points to reach the milestone, Harlor scored eight points over the game's opening 7:56. His three-pointer with 12:04 left in the first half pushed him over the mark, giving him 1,001 career points.

Byers shot 7-for-13 from the field and 4-for-10 from three-point range. His 26 points tied his own LVC Gymnasium record that he shares with Albright's Terron Buchanon.

The game was tied at 75 with 2:30 left following a three-pointer from sophomore forward Dave Kasyan (Toms River, N.J./Toms River East), but that would turn out to be the Valley's final points of the game. Neither team was able to muster a field goal the rest of the way, but the Blue Jays hit seven of their next eight free throws to pull out the win.

Junior guard Kyle Conrad (Shillington, Pa./Governor Mifflin) hit a pair of free throws with 1:31 on the clock, then knocked down two more with 57 seconds to go as E-town extended its lead to 79-75. Connor made it six in a row for the Blue Jays when he converted a pair of foul shots with 37 seconds left, and
junior forward Dan Keane (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin East) added a free throw with 23 seconds remaining.

In the final 2:29, LVC went 0-for-3 from the field, missed the front end of a one-on-one foul shot opportunity, and committed four turnovers.

Senior center Ian Daecher (Lititz, Pa./Warwick) added 14 points for E-town while senior guard Jim Barron (Tamaqua, Pa./Tamaqua) and sophomore guard Greg Adams (Lebanon, Pa./Lebanon) contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Kasyan finished with 16 points for LVC while junior forward Steve Buzinski (West Pittston, Pa./Wyoming) added 11 points.

The first half went back and forth, with neither side leading by more than five for most of the opening period. E-town trailed by three (31-28) with 3:32 remaining in the half when LVC reeled off a 9-1 run to open up its largest lead of the game (40-29) with 58 seconds left in the stanza. But E-town came right back with a 5-1 surge and trailed just 41-34 at the half following a three-pointer from the left baseline by Conrad five seconds before the buzzer.

The Blue Jays continued to chip away in the second half and came all the way back to take the lead (46-45) after a pair of free throws by sophomore forward Brad Schreiber (Mechanicsburg, Pa./East Pennsboro) with 14:42 left. However, LVC reclaimed the lead when Byers converted a fastbreak layup seven seconds later, and the Dutchmen would not trail until the game's final four minutes.

Lebanon Valley saw its lead reach as much as six on three occasions, the last coming with 8:42 to go following a three-pointer from Byers. LVC led by four (72-68) after a pair of Byers free throws with 5:38 left, but the Blue Jays answered with a 6-0 spurt, capped by a jumper from Barron, as E-town took a 74-72 lead with 3:45 remaining. Conrad made 1-of-2 free throws with 2:57 left before Kasyan's game-tying three-pointer 27 seconds later.

Both teams shot well from the field, as E-town connected on 50.0% of its shots while LVC shot at a 49.1% clip. The Blue Jays shot 71.4% (20-of-28) at the foul line while LVC went 65.2% (15-of-23) at the charity stripe.

Forty-nine total fouls were called.

At halftime of the game, LVC secretary of financial aid Deb Atkins was awarded the Hot Dog Frank Athletic Service Award.

Lebanon Valley concludes its Commonwealth Conference season with a pair of away games next week. The Dutchmen visit Widener at 8 p.m. on Tuesday and play their regular season finale next Saturday at Juniata at 8 p.m.

[Photo - Senior guard Evan Harlor, who scored his 1,000th career point against Elizabethtown on Saturday]

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