Box Score

ANNVILLE, Pa. – Sophomore forward Dave Kasyan (Toms River, N.J./Toms River East) scored a game-high 19 points and Lebanon Valley held off a late rally, as the Flying Dutchmen defeated Susquehanna University 68-61 in a Commonwealth Conference match-up Saturday afternoon in front of a near-capacity crowd at the LVC Gymnasium.

With the win, Lebanon Valley (13-8, 7-3 CC) snapped a three-game home losing streak and kept pace with Widener University for first place in the Commonwealth standings. Widener defeated Elizabethtown on Saturday.

Junior forward Bubba Mills (Reading, Pa./Reading Central Catholic) led Susquehanna (13-7, 5-5 CC), which lost its third straight conference game, with 16 points while senior forward Phil Sander (Hancock, N.Y./Walton Central) posted 14 points along with 11 rebounds and three blocks.

Junior guard J.D. Byers (Westminster, Md./Westminster) added 15 points and a season-high 10 assists for the Dutchmen. Junior forward Steve Buzinski (West Pittston, Pa./Wyoming) sophomore forward Dan Hogan (Scranton, Pa./West Scranton) chipped in with seven points and seven rebounds apiece while senior guard Evan Harlor (Danville, Pa./Danville) dropped in nine points. Harlor is now 24 points away from becoming Lebanon Valley's 28th career 1,000-point scorer.

The Crusaders trailed by as much as 15 early in the second half but came all the way back to cut the lead to three (64-61) with 4:30 remaining following a three-pointer by Chad Lauer. However, LVC held Susquehanna scoreless the rest of the way, as the Crusaders missed their final five field goals and their last three foul shots.

LVC was able to hold on for the victory despite going the final seven minutes without a field goal.

Susquehanna held four leads over the opening 4:45, but a Kasyan jump shot with 14:30 to go in the opening half broke a 7-7 tie and gave the Dutchmen the lead for good. LVC's lead reached double digits (33-23) with 2:37 remaining in the half following an 11-2 Dutchmen run, and the Valley took a 38-28 lead into halftime.

A 7-2 LVC spurt at the start of the second half gave the Dutchmen its 15-point advantage (45-30) with 15:27 remaining. However, Susquehanna slowly chipped away at the deficit, and a 10-2 Crusader run made it 64-61. After Byers hit a free throw with 4:12 left, Susquehanna had three chances to make it a one-point game. But Mills missed a layup with 3:25 left and a three-point attempt by senior guard Nick Griffiths (Shamokin, Pa./Shamokin) with 3:09 to go was off the mark. Then with 2:34 on the clock, Mills missed the front end of a one-on-one foul shot opportunity.

After Hogan hit 1-of-2 free throws to make it 66-61 with 1:54 remaining, Susquehanna had a pair of chances to cut into the lead, but senior guard Chris Zimmerman (Coal Township, Pa./Shamokin) missed a three-pointer with 1:30 to go and Sander missed two free throws with 39 seconds remaining. Byers put the game away with a pair of foul shots with 24 seconds left.

Lebanon Valley returns to action on Tuesday, when it visits Moravian College at 8 p.m. in another Commonwealth Conference affair.

[Photo - Sophomore forward Dave Kasyan, who scored a game-high 19 points in LVC's 68-61 win over Susquehanna on Saturday]

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