Arcadia 71, Lebanon Valley 67

LVC Starters
Light, Conrad, Orr, Boccanfuso, Mrozek

Arcadia Starters
Landro, Scott, Kelley, Cohen, Reilly

How It Happened
Arcadia used a key 17-2 run midway through the second half to wrestle away the momentum and the opportunity to play in the MAC Commonwealth Championship Game from Lebanon Valley in the Flying Dutchmen's 71-67 loss on Wednesday night.

LVC (16-10) stretched an eight-point half time advantage to as much as 11 early in the second half but the Knights (17-9) methodically erased the deficit over the next six-plus minutes and grabbed their first lead of the half following a Josh Scott jumper with 11:12 remaining. The Dutchmen went cold from the floor, going 0-for-10 during the crucial stretch.

Sam Light made two tough shots to tie draw his team even late in the game. He absorbed contact and completed a tough fast break layup to tie it up at 56-56 with 4:38 left before draining a fall-away 3-ball from the corner to knot it at 59-59 at the 3:11 mark. Unfortunately, LVC failed to covert another field goal until just 34 seconds remained.

The Dutchmen struggled to get Andy Orr involved in crunch time after the MAC Commonwealth's top scorer netted 10 and grabbed seven rebounds in the first half. Lebanon Valley got away from feeding him after the break as the versatile forward was limited to just four points on three shots and two boards in the second half.

It was an Orr layup that gave LVC its largest lead of the night at 43-32 with 16:34 remaining after the team took a 36-28 lead into the break.

A Zach Mrozek jumper put the Dutchmen up 10 at the 5:31 mark of the first half and capped a 15-6 LVC run as the half wore down. Arcadia led 12-10 at the 12:48 mark but following a pair of Will Boccanfuso free throws on Lebanon Valley's next possession, the Knights wouldn't lead again until Scott knocked down his jump shot with just over 11 minutes left to play.

Turning Point
Trailing 43-32 with 16:34 left to play, Arcadia put together a game-changing 17-2 run over the next 6:35. LVC managed just two free throws during that timeframe, while the Knights were aided second chance opportunities thanks to three offensive rebounds and a pair of Evan Slone tip-ins. The Dutchmen never led again.

It Was Over When…
…Evan Slone converted a layup off a John Landro find with 1:36 remaining to push Arcadia's lead to four points. The Dutchmen turned it over on their next possession and were forced to foul down the stretch. The Knights went 8-for-8 from the charity stripe in the final minute to seal the win.

Stat of the Game
35-29 – Arcadia entered Wednesday's contest with a -4.4 rebounding margin but outrebounded the Dutchmen by six boards in the semifinal matchup.

Inside the Numbers
- Sam Light scored a team-high 16 points for Lebanon Valley but had a rare off-night, managing just a 6-for-17 shooting clip.
- Andy Orr finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds to go along with five assists, two blocks, and two steals.
- Zach Mrozek joined Light and Orr as double-digit scorers with 15 tallies. He, along with Will Boccanfuso and Travis Conrad, grabbed four boards.
- Ricky Bugg provided a nice spark for the Dutchmen in the early going. He scored seven of his nine points in the first half.
- Arcadia took advantage of LVC mistakes and scored 14 points off turnovers.
- The Dutchmen scored 34 points in the paint compared to 26 by the Knights.
- Arcadia's bench outscored Lebanon Valley's reserves 27-11.
- Four Knights reached the double-digit scoring mark with Ryan Kelley leading the way with 16 points.
- Lycoming defeated top-seeded Alvernia in the second MAC Commonwealth semifinal matchup on Wednesday night. Arcadia will host the Warriors in the league's championship game on Saturday night.

Who's Next?
LVC will await an ECAC invite following the conclusion of this weekend's conference tournaments and the NCAA Division III Tournament selection process.