Neumann University 87, Lebanon Valley 80 (OT)
 
LVC Starters
Baker, Tucker, Anderson, Jo. Abdo, Covey
 
Neumann Starters
Brown-Johnson, J. Johnson, D. Johnson, Lowman, Johnson-Chavis
 
How It Happened
MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – Lebanon Valley's men's basketball squad narrowly fell to Neumann 87-80 in overtime in the Dutchmen's 2018-19 season opener on Saturday afternoon, Nov. 10 at Penn State Harrisburg's Tip-Off Tournament. The Dutchmen fell to 0-1, while the Knights improved to 2-0.
 
With LVC up by nine at 69-60 with 7:56 remaining in regulation, Neumann mounted a comeback thanks to a 7-0 run to come to within two of the Dutchmen at 69-67 with 5:57 to go. Trevor Covey stopped the bleeding momentarily with a big 3-pointer to put LVC up by five at 5:37, but Neumann went on to tie things up at 74-74 with 2:55 left. After a Knights' steal, Waheem Lowman made a layup at 2:07, giving Neumann a two-point advantage at 76-74. With 1:34 to go, Covey was fouled and hit both of his free throws to knot things again at 76-76. In the final six seconds, Zach Tucker had a good look for the win, but his shot was blocked by Aaron Chavis-Johnson and the game went into overtime.
 
Justin Baker made a layup with 4:32 left in overtime to tie it at 78-78. After a Neumann free throw, Zach Tucker put LVC ahead by one at 80-79 with a layup at 3:54. From there, the Knights took over and never looked back, beginning with a free throw, followed by a triple with 1:44 left to put Neumann up 83-80. LVC was unable to make a comeback and down the stretch, the Knights went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe en route to the 87-80 win.
 
The Dutchmen jumped out to a 14-7 advantage in the first half, capped by a Derreck Orr Jr. free throw at 12:13. Later in the first, Jordan Abdo nailed a 3-pointer at 7:59 to give LVC a double-digit lead at 24-12. From there, the Knights responded with a 9-1 spurt that spanned almost three minutes to come to within four of the Dutchmen at 25-21 with 5:13 left. LVC, however, kept its distance from Neumann and went into second-half action with a 35-29 lead.
 
In the early going of the second, the Dutchmen opened up a 17-point lead capped by Chris Anderson's layup to make it a 52-35 game with 16:19 remaining. Slowly, the Knights came back and eventually tied it to send things into overtime where LVC was edged 87-80.
 
Inside the Numbers
 - In his collegiate debut, Covey finished with a game-high 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting. He added eight rebounds and a 4-of-6 line from beyond the arc.
 - Tucker ended with 17 points in 43 minutes of action and added 10 assists for the double-double.
 - Jo. Abdo went for 11 points and six rebounds.
 - Anderson had 10 points and chipped in five assists and a pair of steals.
 - Mason Green was in double figures in his collegiate debut with 10 points.
 - Neumann was led by Raquan Brown-Johnson, who ended with 20 points.
 - Lowan (17), Johnson-Chavis (17) and Jordan Collins (16) were also in double-digits in points.
 - The Knights outrebounded the Dutchmen 52-40.
 - LVC held the edge in steals at 11-10.
 - Neumann held a narrow advantage in shooting percentage at 42.9 to 42.1-percent.
 
Who's Next?
LVC will take on Gettysburg in the Consolation Game tomorrow in Middletown at 1 p.m.
 
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