Lebanon Valley 82, Messiah 78
LVC Starters
Baker, Tucker, Anderson, Covey, Deihm
Messiah Starters
Sareyka, Darville, Eberle, Whittle
How It Happened
ANNVILLE, Pa. – In a nail-biter of a second half, Lebanon Valley was able to execute down the stretch and secure an 82-78 victory over MAC Commonwealth foe Messiah at Sorrentino Gymnasium on Wednesday night, Jan. 16. The Flying Dutchmen advanced to 6-11, 3-5 MAC Commonwealth, while the Falcons dropped to 7-10, 3-5 MAC Commonwealth.
LVC jumped out to a quick lead after three layups from Chris Anderson and Justin Baker in the early going, creating a 6-3 point separation nearly three minutes into the half. Messiah answered back and kept the score within two until 9:38 remained in the half and the home team took control of the game thanks to a run that pushed the score to 30-19. In the last three minutes of the half, the Dutchmen outscored the Falcons 11-6, with four of those points coming from beyond the arc. LVC went into halftime leading 47-36.
Lebanon Valley continued this trend for most of the second half, holding a comfortable lead until 5:11 was left to play. The visitors put together a 6-2 run that drew them to within four at 71-67.
The last eight seconds of the game proved intense. An LVC foul sent the Falcons to the stripe and Colin Sareyka sank both shots to bring Messiah within two at 78-76. The Falcons were forced to foul Zach Tucker and the sophomore calmly sank both shots. Three seconds remained but the visitors used a pull-up to again make it a one possession game. With one tick left, Messiah was again forced to foul Tucker but again the guard converted both attempts to put the game on ice.
Inside the Numbers
- Tucker lead the team with 25 points, while Anderson was right behind him with 20.
- Baker lead the team with eight rebounds, with Jeremy Deihm pulled down six.
- Trevor Covey and AJ Catanzaro each swiped a pair of steals.
- Both Deihm and Covey shot 75 percent from the field, while Tucker was 57.1 from 3-point range.
- LVC held the lead for 33:35 minutes.
- The Dutchmen were stronger in FG%(53.3-42.6), FT% (72.7-70.8), and 3P% *50.0-34.6).
- Messiah racked up more offensive rebounds at 13-9 but Lebanon Valley posted more defensive rebounds at 25-21.
Who's Next?
Lebanon Valley is back in Sorrentino Gymnasium on Saturday, the 19th, against Albright in a MAC Commonwealth matchup at 4 p.m.
Stay Connected
Be sure to follow @lvcathletics on?Instagram,?Twitter, and?Facebook?for the most in-depth coverage of LVC athletics.
