Box Score
ANNVILLE, Pa. – Lebanon Valley raced to a 38-27 halftime lead, then outscored Widener 41-26 in the second half as the Flying Dutchmen recorded a convincing 79-53 win over the Pioneers in Commonwealth Conference men’s basketball action Tuesday evening at the LVC Gymnasium.
Senior guard J.D. Byers and senior forward Steve Buzinski led the Dutchmen (16-5, 8-4 CC), who won their fourth game in a row and remained undefeated at home (9-0) this season. Byers shot 6-for-11 and scored a game-high 19 points to go with five assists while Buzinski dropped in 16 points on 6-of-10 marksmanship.
Lebanon Valley shot a season-high 60.0% from the floor. Widener (13-10, 7-6 CC), which shot 50.9% in its 75-56 win over LVC earlier in the season, shot just 32.1%, including a 26.7% mark in the second half.
Widener was paced by senior forward Matt Sheaffer, who scored 14 points. Senior guard Casey Stitzel added 12 points.
With the win, the Dutchmen moved into a tie with Messiah for second place in the Commonwealth Conference standings. Messiah dropped a 78-63 decision to Elizabethtown on Tuesday.
Lebanon Valley’s victory also snapped a four-game losing streak against Widener. The Dutchmen’s last win over the Pioneers was a 76-64 victory on Feb. 8, 2003.
The Duthmen's 26-point win marked their largest margin of victory this year and was the team's biggest blowout since its 114-79 win over Delaware Valley on Jan. 8 of last season.
The win was also victory No. 190 at LVC for Dutchman head coach Brad McAlester.
The Pioneers led four times in the early going, but a Buzinski lay-up with 11:55 left in the opening stanza gave LVC the lead (13-11) for good. An 8-0 LVC run, capped by a Byers lay-up with 7:40 on the clock, midway through the period gave the Dutchmen their largest advantage (27-15) of the half. Widener came right back with a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to four (29-25) with 5:17 left in the half, but after a 30-second timeout, LVC closed the period on a 9-2 run to open up its 11-point halftime lead.
A lay-up from sophomore guard Jimmy Curran with 16:51 left punctuated an 8-2 Dutchman run to start the second half, giving the Valley a 16-point (46-30) lead. LVC enjoyed a 17-point advantage (59-42) with 9:09 on the clock before the Dutchmen put the game away with an 8-0 surge. The run, which was capped by a Byers three-pointer, gave Lebanon Valley an insurmountable 25-point lead with 6:28 left.
Senior center Brad Stigelman nearly reached his third double-double of the season for Lebanon Valley, posting 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Curran finished with eight points and four assists.
All 16 Dutchmen who dressed appeared in the game, and 11 found their way into the scoring column.
Lebanon Valley returns to action on Thursday, when it hosts Elizabethtown at 8 p.m. in another Commonwealth Conference affair. An LVC win would clinch a conference playoff berth for the Dutchmen.
[Photo - Senior forward Steve Buzinski, who scored 16 points in Lebanon Valley's 79-53 win over Widener on Tuesday]
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