Box Score

READING, Pa. – Albright College used a decisive 12-2 run over a 4:52 stretch that spanned over both halves en route to a 66-50 Commonwealth Conference victory over Lebanon Valley in men’s basketball action Tuesday evening.

The Flying Dutchmen’s loss, coupled with Elizabethtown College’s win over Messiah College on Tuesday, eliminates LVC from Commonwealth Conference playoff contention. Elizabethtown, which currently holds the fourth and final playoff spot with its 7-6 conference record, is now two games ahead of LVC with one Commonwealth game remaining.

Lebanon Valley (11-13, 5-8 CC) trailed 22-16 with 3:52 left in the first half before Albright (15-8, 8-5 CC) closed the stanza on a 12-6 spurt to take a 29-18 lead into the locker room. The Lions then scored the first five points of the second period to open up a 16-point lead with 19:00 left, and the two sides played even 32-32 ball the rest of the way, with Albright’s lead never dipping below 14.

Junior forward Dave Kasyan led the Dutchmen with a game-high 14 points to go with eight rebounds while junior guard Jimmy Curran had 10 points.

Albright utilized balanced scoring, similar to its first meeting with LVC this season when only one player reached double figures but 12 different Lions found the scoring column. Trevor Deeter, Lee Walter, Tom Murphy, and Kyle Brudvig scored 12 points apiece for Albright on Tuesday.

Lebanon Valley led just twice on the evening, at 5-3 and 7-6. It was an 11-9 game after a Curran lay-up with 14:56 left in the opening half before Albright ran off eight points in a row to open up a 17-9 lead with 12:21 on the clock. But Kasyan stemmed the run with a three-pointer 1:25 later. Two Curran free throws made it 22-16 before the Lions’ game-changing run.

In the second half, Albright’s lead hit 20 (40-20) with 15:48 left, although freshman guard Dan Hodge would cut into the deficit on two occasions. His three-pointer with 7:41 left made it 52-36, and he hit two free throws with 6:03 remaining to pull LVC to within 15 (56-41). But Albright scored the next four points to quell any threat of a Dutchmen rally.

Lebanon Valley plays its final regular season game on Saturday, when it visits Susquehanna University at 3 p.m.

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