Box Score
ANNVILLE, Pa. – Senior guard Jimmy Curran scored 28 points for the second game in a row, and Lebanon Valley held off a furious Elizabethtown College rally to earn a 79-73 Commonwealth Conference victory Saturday afternoon in the 99th college basketball game held at the LVC Gymnasium.
With the win, Lebanon Valley (4-2, 2-0 CC) has now started the season 2-0 in conference play for the third time in the last four years, and is 4-1 in its last five meetings with the Blue Jays.
Elizabethtown (2-4, 1-1 CC) was led by junior guard Michael Schatzmann, who scored 18 points on 5-of-7 three-point shooting.
The Blue Jays trailed by 17 (64-47) with 10:45 on the clock before mounting its comeback. E-town employed a full-court press that forced four LVC turnovers as the Jays reeled off an 11-2 run to reduce the deficit to single digits (66-58) with 7:19 on the clock following a pair of Nick Kennedy free throws.
E-town continued to press, forcing three more turnovers over the next 2:49 as the Blue Jays whittled the lead all the way down to one. After a missed E-town shot and with several players diving on the court for a loose ball, senior guard Kris Kieres scooped up the rock, banked in a shot from just inside the foul line, and was fouled. Kieres made the ensuing free throw, putting the score at 68-67 with 4:30 left and making it a 20-4 Blue Jay run.
Junior forward Peter Ruth gave the Dutchmen some breathing room when turned a lob pass from Curran into an easy lay-up to make it 70-67. Then after E-town missed a pair of free throws, sophomore guard Kyle Enoch drained a big three-pointer from the left elbow, pushing the Dutchmen’s advantage to 73-67 with 3:08 to go.
The Jays scored the next four points on a Schatzmann trey and a Luke Ledyard foul shot to pull to within two (73-71) with 2:38 on the clock, but the Dutchmen had an answer once again. This time, sophomore guard Dan Hodge converted a driving lay-up, and after a missed E-town jumper, Enoch connected on 1-of-2 free throws to make it a 77-71 game with 34 ticks showing.
Junior forward Bryce Rodgers knocked down a jumper with seven seconds left, but Curran iced the game with a pair of free throws three seconds later.
Curran also tied a season-high with seven assists. Enoch finished with 11 points and five rebounds while Ruth notched a career-high 10 points to go with five rebounds and two blocks. Senior guard Hunter Bretschneider added eight points and four assists while senior forward Brian Wolensky contributed six points and six rebounds.
Kieres and Kennedy scored 10 points apiece for the Blue Jays while Rodgers had eight points and seven boards.
Lebanon Valley surged to an 18-9 lead after Wolensky knocked down a pair of free throws with 12:30 left in the opening half. However, back-to-back three-pointers from Schatzmann pulled the Jays to within three (18-15) with 11:45 to go, and a 5-0 E-town spurt tied the game 22-22 with 8:24 showing after a Ledyard jumper.
A 7-0 Blue Jay spurt gave the visitors a four-point edge (31-27) with 5:51 remaining in the opening period. Schatzmann canned his fourth three-pointer of the half with 54 seconds on the clock but Curran answered with a trey of his own three seconds before the buzzer to make it a 39-39 tie at the intermission.
Curran, who scored 18 points in the first half, picked up right where he left off in the second stanza, draining another trey 33 seconds into the period. Kieres answered with a jumper for E-town to make it 42-41, but that’s when the Dutchmen embarked on an 18-4 run to open up a 60-45 lead following a lay-up from freshman forward James Shinn with 12:20 left. Shinn made a pair of free throws with 10:45 left to give the Dutchmen their 17-point advantage.
Lebanon Valley shot 56.9% from the field for the second game in a row, tying a season-best. The Dutchmen also a season-high 85.7% (12-for-14) at the foul line while E-town was 18-for-27 at the charity stripe.
The Dutchmen return to action on Tuesday, when they visit non-conference opponent Delaware Valley College at 7 p.m.
[Photo - Junior forward Peter Ruth, who had 10 points, five rebounds, and two blocks in Lebanon Valley's 79-73 win over Elizabethtown on Saturday]
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