Misericordia 88, Lebanon Valley 83 (OT)
LVC Starters
Davis, Light, Barwin, Boccanfuso, Orr
MU Starters
Kenny, Sponaugle, Fields, Harding, Hawk
How It Happened
Lebanon Valley erased a 17-point second-half deficit before running out of steam and falling to an undefeated Misericordia squad 88-83 in overtime at Sorrentino Gymnasium on Tuesday night.
The Flying Dutchmen (2-2) took the lead in the extra session following a three-pointer and a jumper by Andy Orr on back-to-back possessions. But the visitors (4-0) scored the game's next eight points to reclaim the advantage in the final moments. A pair of Orr free throws with 26 seconds remaining cut the deficit to one possession but Jason Kenny converted two foul shots of his own on MU's ensuing possession to seal the hard-fought victory.
Lebanon Valley trailed by as many as 17 points with 16:40 left to play before a key 21-8 run over a nearly eight-minute span late in the second half put the Dutchmen back out in front for the first time since the contest's opening moments. Will Boccanfuso's free throws at the 2:26 mark made it 69-68 LVC.
Boccanfuso added a layup and Orr buried a jumper from beyond the arc to put the Dutchmen out in front 74-71 but Griffin Sponaugle answered with a triple of his own on the Cougars' next possession. Boccanfuso's layup with 13 seconds left appeared to give the home team an advantage it wouldn't surrender but Kenny converted a clutch layup to tie things up with four second remaining.
Outside of some back-and-forth in the early going, it was just about all Misericordia in the first half. The Cougars grabbed their first double-digit lead when Kenny laid one in at the 1:54 mark to make it 31-20. A Tony Harding three-ball put MU up 12 but the Dutchmen closed out the half with buckets by Sam Light and Ricky Bugg to cut the deficit to eight at the break.
1,00Orr
When he knocked down a straightaway three-pointer with 8:40 left to play in the second half, Andy Orr became the 35th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point mark for his career. He finished the game with 32 markers and sits 34th on the program's all-time scoring list with 1,006 points.
Inside the Numbers
- Andy Orr scored 17 of his game-high 32 points in the second half en route to netting the 1,000th point of his career. He added seven rebounds, three steals, and a block.
- Will Boccanfuso turned in his best effort of the season en route to recording a double-double. He was a beast on the glass and pulled in 16 boards to go along with 11 points. He also swiped a game-high five steals and dished out five assists.
- Sam Light dropped 17 points on the Cougars and added three steals.
- Ricky Bugg and Collin Moore logged some big minutes for LVC and played a crucial role in aiding the comeback effort. Bugg finished with eight points and Moore netted seven of his own.
- The Cougars scored more than half of their points in the paint (48), compared to 28 by the Dutchmen.
- Misericordia took advantage of fast-break opportunities and scored 10 points in transition.
- The LVC reserves outscored the MU bench 17-10. The Dutchmen also netted 14 points off of Cougar turnovers as the team's defense swiped 15 steals on the night.
Who's Next?
The Dutchmen renew an old series with a former longtime rival in No. 23 Franklin & Marshall at Sorrentino Gymnasium on Sunday afternoon.
