Box Score
CHESTER, Pa. – Sophomore guard Kyle Enoch erupted for a career-high 31 points on a scalding 9-for-11 shooting night from 3-point range as the Lebanon Valley College men’s basketball team won at Widener for the first time in five years, defeating the Pride 87-78 in a Commonwealth Conference match-up Wednesday evening in the Schwartz Center.
With the game tied 38-all at the half, Lebanon Valley (12-8, 4-5 CC) lit up for 49 second-half points. Widener (11-8, 6-3 CC) lost for the third time in its last four Commonwealth outings after starting the season 5-0 in conference play.
Enoch’s nine treys set a school record and was one more than the previous LVC all-time mark set by current Dutchman assistant coach J.D. Byers ’05 three times. His 31 points marked the first 30-point game by Lebanon Valley player since Byers scored 31 against Penn State Behrend in the first round of the 2004-05 NCAA Division III Tournament. Enoch also tied a career-high with eight rebounds.
With the win, the Dutchmen snapped a six-game losing streak at Widener, winning in Chester for the first time since the 2001-02 season. With Moravian losing to Albright on Wednesday, Lebanon Valley also took sole possession of fifth place in the conference standings and is now one game behind Susquehanna and Juniata, who are tied for third place at 5-4.
Freshman forward James Shinn added season-highs of 15 points and 12 rebounds for his first career double-double, and his 12 boards were the most by a Dutchman this season. Senior guard Hunter Bretschneider notched 13 points and a career-high eight assists while sophomore forward Eric Humphrey contributed a career-high 11 points.
Nyere Miller led Widener with 22 points on 7-of-12 3-point shooting while Malcolm Thomas posted 21 points.
The Dutchmen led just 78-76 with 1:22 remaining after a Miller 3-pointer, but Bretschneider answered with a big trey of his own 20 seconds later. After Widener missed a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession, Lebanon Valley put the game away at the foul line, making their final six free throws. Enoch connected on the first four before sophomore guard Dustin Kerns drained two with 12 seconds left, setting the final score.
Lebanon Valley trailed for nearly the entire first half, and it was 36-27 with 3:09 left in the opening stanza following a pair of Essien Ford free throws. But the Dutchmen closed the period on an 11-2 run to tie the game at the break. Enoch started the surge with back-to-back treys before Bretschneider followed with a long ball of his own. Senior forward Brian Wolensky capped the spurt and tied the game on a lay-up with seven seconds on the clock.
After Humphrey gave LVC the lead (44-43) for good on a lay-up with 18:07 left in the game, it was a 50-48 contest before the Dutchmen gave themselves some breathing room with a 9-1 run. Humphrey kicked off the run with a free throw before Enoch drained a pair of 3-pointers sandwiched around a Shinn tip-in. Enoch’s second trey of the spurt made it 59-49 with 12:53 to go.
The Pride answered with a 8-2 run that cut the gap to four, but the Dutchmen outscored Widener 12-6 over the following four minutes to restore its 10-point lead (73-63) on a Humphrey lay-up with 7:27 left. Widener refused to go quietly, however, making three straight 3-pointers to draw to within three. Ford drilled the first two treys before a Miller 3 made it 75-72 with 5:48 on the clock. But the Pride would manage only a free throw before Miller’s late 3.
Lebanon Valley returns to action on Saturday, when it visits Elizabethtown College at 4 p.m. in another Commonwealth Conference affair.
[Photo - Sophomore guard Kyle Enoch, who made a school-record nine 3-pointers and scored 31 points in Lebanon Valley's 87-78 win at Widener on Wednesday]
-lvc-
