Box Score

ANNVILLE, Pa. – Senior guard Terron Buchanon (Reading, Pa./Reading) knocked down the game-winning jump shot with 3.7 seconds left, and Albright College held off a furious rally by Lebanon Valley as the Lions edged the Flying Dutchmen 78-76 in the LVC Gymnasium Wednesday evening in a Commonwealth Conference showdown.

After a three-pointer by sophomore forward Dave Kasyan (Toms River, N.J./Toms River) from the top of the arc tied the game at 76 with 38 seconds left, Albright held the ball for a final shot. With the clock winding down, Buchanon drove into the lane, pulled up at the left elbow and dropped in the go-ahead bucket. He was fouled on the shot, but missed the ensuing free throw. LVC grabbed the rebound, but an off-balance, half-court desperation shot from junior guard J.D. Byers (Westminster, Md./Westminster) slammed harmlessly off the upper section of the backboard.

Byers, who finished with 21 points, single-handedly pulled the Valley back into the game after the Dutchmen trailed by 10 with 6:10 left. With 3:30 to go he scored 14 straight points, including three straight three-pointers.

Lebanon Valley (12-8, 6-3 CC) trailed by eight (73-65) with 2:16 left before Byers reeled off eight of his points to tie the game with 1:24 remaining. He nailed a three-pointer with 2:29 to go, and connected on another trey with 2:05 left following an Albright layup. Byers then drilled another three, was fouled, and hit the free throw to complete a four-point play with 1:34 on the clock, pulling the Valley to within one (73-72). He was fouled again with 1:24 to go, and he hit 1-of-2 free throws to tie the game for the first time since the 2:48 mark of the first half.

Buchanon, who scored the final five points for Albright (11-8, 5-4 CC), put the Lions up 76-73 after knocking down a three-pointer with 58 seconds left before Kasyan answered with a three-pointer of his own 20 seconds later.

Buchanon finished with a game-high 26 points, tying an LVC Gymnasium record set earlier this season by Byers. He shot 11-for-16 for the game, including 3-of-4 marksmanship from beyond the arc. Junior forward Ben Gallagher (Butler, Pa./Butler) added 16 points and eight rebounds for the Lions while sophomore forward Trevor Deeter (Langhorne, Pa./Neshaminy) tallied 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds.

Kasyan led LVC and tied a career-high with 22 points. He shot 4-for-6 from three-point territory and posted six rebounds to go with a season-high four assists.

Byers shot 7-for-11 and 4-for-7 from downtown. He added a game-high six assists.

Junior forward Steve Buzinski (West Pittston, Pa./Wyoming) and senior guard Evan Harlor (Danville, Pa./Danville) chipped in with 10 points apiece for LVC. Sophomore forward Dan Hogan (Scranton, Pa./West Scranton) added six points, eight rebounds and a game-high four steals.

Harlor is now 33 points from reaching 1,000 for his career.

With Widener defeating Moravian and Susquehanna losing to Elizabethtown on Wednesday, LVC is now tied with Widener for first place in the Commonwealth Conference standings.

Lebanon Valley has now lost its last three home games after starting the season 6-1 on its home hardwood. In Commonwealth games, the Dutchmen are 4-0 on the road and 2-3 at home.

Both teams shot extremely well from the field, with LVC shooting a season-high 59.2% and Albright making 53.2% of its shots. The Dutchmen also shot a season-high 58.8% (10-for-17) from three-point range. However, the Valley suffered from season-low shooting at the foul line, making just 47.1% (8-of-17) of its free throws. Albright was 7-for-9 at the line.

Lebanon Valley started the game strong and led by as much as 10 (28-18) with 8:59 to go in the opening half. The Dutchmen led by eight (32-24) with 6:16 left in the period but Albright closed the half on a 17-2 flurry and took a seven-point lead (41-34) into the locker room.

In the second half, LVC was unable to cut the lead to less than five until the team's late rally. Albright led by as much as 10 on two occasions.

Lebanon Valley returns home on Saturday when it takes on Susquehanna University at 2 p.m. in another Commonwealth Conference affair.

[Sophomore forward Dave Kasyan, who scored a team-high 22 points against Albright on Wednesday]

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