Lebanon Valley 68, Albright 64

Box Score

READING, Pa. - Anthony Trautman went off for a career-high 35 points, sparking a decisive late run as Lebanon Valley held off Albright 68-64 to move into sole possession of second place in the Commonwealth Conference.

The Dutchmen (17-6, 8-4 CC) won their eighth in a row and swept the season series from the Lions (15-8, 7-5 CC) for the first time since 2001-02. LVC entered the day in a three-way tie for second with Albright and Elizabethtown, but E-town lost to Widener 65-62 on a buzzerbeater to push the Dutchmen into second place by themselves.

Lebanon Valley will have to wait until Tuesday for a chance to officially clinch a CC playoff berth when they visit Elizabethtown. LVC controls its own destiny for at least the #2 playoff seed.

Trautman was a red-hot 13-for-16 - including five three-pointers - and he scored 26 of his 35 in the second half for his ninth consecutive 20+ point game. Danny Brooks added 14 points, and Jordan Stewart grabbed 12 rebounds. Joe Meehan, returning after a game off due to injury, dished out seven assists with nine points.

Albright big man Derek Hall had a 15-point, 14-rebound double-double with three blocks, and Zac Shaeffer canned 20, including several key late shots as Albright attempted a comeback.

A dogfight of a game included 15 lead changes and 11 ties, coming down to a 54-54 knot with 7:20 to go before LVC ultimately took the lead. A three-pointer and layup by Trautman, combined with a Stewart foul shot, made a 6-0 run to put LVC up 60-54 before a Shaeffer three-pointer cut it to 60-57 with 4:52 to play.

Consecutive baskets by Meehan re-established a seven-point lead, but a pair of free throws and another long ball from Shaeffer made it a 64-62 game as LVC went scoreless over a 2:04 span. Stewart finally broke the drought with a pair of free throws with 27 ticks left, but Shane Irwin's putback made it a one-bucket game with 14 seconds to go.

Trautman went to the line and made both shots to make it at least a two-basket game, and Albright couldn't answer as Shaeffer and Jeff Sparrow both missed shots before the buzzer.