Box Score
ANNVILLE, Pa. - Lebanon Valley mounted a late charge and nearly erased a 15-point second half deficit, but Albright used 13 three-pointers to hold on and win, 81-77, in Commonwealth Conference play Saturday.
The Dutchmen (9-13, 5-6 CC) saw their hopes of making the CC playoffs take a serious blow with the loss, and will now need to win out and get some help to make the field of four. The Lions (18-2, 9-3 CC) cemented their hold on first place with the win.
Joe Meehan scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half, and
Dan Dunkelberger had his fourth consecutive double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Cameron Prince added a career-high 14 points.
Zac Shaeffer paced Albright with 20 points, and Matt Ashcroft nailed five three's on the way to 19. Big man Derek Hall did it all for the Lions with 17 points and 11 boards, including three treys.
LVC led early on, but the Lions erased the lead and took a one-point lead into the half. The Lions then exploded out of the break, with 10 straight points by Hall making up most of a 13-2 run to turn a one-point lead into a 15-point cushion midway through the half.
Albright led by as much as 15 as late as the 6:45 mark, but the Dutchmen gave a large home crowd some excitement with a 7-0 spurt to get within eight, and a big
Zach Kebetz catch-and-release three made it 72-67 with 3:34 to go.
Hall's layup at the other end stopped the bleeding, but Meehan canned another three, and
Grant Becker's foul shots moments later made it a two-point game with 1:21 left.
Ashcroft appeared to put a dagger in the comeback with a long three-pointer with 54 seconds left, but Meehan again responded from the outside to make it 79-77 with just 25 seconds to go. After fouling Hall and having him miss his first try, LVC looked to have a fantastic chance to tie the game, but a sharp pass by Meehan caromed off a wide-open Dunkelberger and out of bounds, and Ashcroft made two foul shots to ice the game with six seconds left.
LVC will host Elizabethtown Tuesday at 8 p.m. on Senior Night.
The game took place on the 26th Annual "Hot Dog" Frank Day, which honors the late
Frank Aftosmes, an Annville businessman who was an avid supporter of LVC athletics. Each year a member of the LVC athletic family is honored for their contributions to the College, and this year's recipient was
Kevin Yeiser, who serves as director of grounds at LVC and is also an off-ice official for the ice hockey program.
