Lebanon Valley 70, Lycoming 69
 
LVC Starters
Lehr, Eck, Bamberger, Scarff, Mealey
 
Lycoming Starters
Lutz, McFadden, Painter, Grove, Kline
 
How It Happened
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Jen Eck hit a jumper as time expired to give Lebanon Valley a huge 70-69 MAC Commonwealth victory over Lycoming on Wednesday night in conference basketball action. The Dutchmen improved to 10-9, 6-4 MAC Commonwealth, while the Warriors fell to 13-6, 7-3 MAC Commonwealth.
 
LVC held a slight 66-64 lead with 1:48 remaining in the game, but Lyco's Becca Painter knocked down a big 3-pointer to give the home team a slight 67-66 advantage. The Dutchmen answered with 1:17 to go when Caroline Scarff hit a layup, putting the visitors back on top by one at 68-67. After each team traded a possession down the stretch, the Warriors had the ball with seven ticks left. After a missed layup, Erica Lutz connected on the put-back with just a second left to give Lyco a 69-68 advantage. It looked as though the Dutchmen were going to fall on the road to a tough Lyco squad, but Anne Lehr and Eck had other ideas. Coming out of a timeout to advance the ball, Lehr threw an in-bounds pass to Eck with one second left and Eck let off a jumper about five feet to the left of the basket and sank it as time expired to give LVC a crucial 70-69 win.

To view Eck's buzzer-beater, check out the link below.


 
In the early going, the Dutchmen got off to a hot start and began tonight's action on a 10-0 run, capped by Emily Mealey's layup at 6:56. From there, however, the Warriors answered with a 12-4 spurt that spanned over four minutes of action to come to within two of LVC at 14-12. The home team continued to pour it on and took a 16-15 later at 1:42 thanks to Akilah McFadden's trey. LVC hung tough, though, and found themselves down by three at 19-16 after one quarter of action.
 
In the second quarter, Lyco picked up where it left off in the first period and opened up a seven-point lead at 28-21 with 7:23 left. The Dutchmen never let the game get out of hand though, but nevertheless, the Warriors went into halftime up by nine at 34-25.
 
The third quarter proved to be pivotal, as the home team went up by as many as 13, but the Dutchmen battled back and kept chipping away. A Mealey layup with 1:56 to go brought LVC to within seven at 51-44 and the Dutchmen were down by just nine at the end of the third at 53-44.
 
The visitors began the fourth quarter of a 13-3 run to come to within four at 57-53. LVC continued their comeback and at 5:45, Scarff hit a layup to bring the Dutchmen to within a point at 61-60. After McFadden connected on a free throw on Lyco's ensuing possession, Eck knocked down a huge triple to give LVC a 63-62 lead. From there, the game remained back-and-forth until Eck eventually sunk the Warriors with her buzzer-beater.
 
Inside the Numbers
 - Eck went for 12 points, four rebounds, and four assists.
 - Scarff netted a team-high 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting and she added six boards, two assists, and a pair of steals.
 - Mealey ended with 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
 - Lehr finished with 12 points, five assists, four boards, and three steals.
 - Ashley Kline chipped in six rebounds and five helpers.
 - Lyco was led by Erica Lutz who netted 17 points.
 - Kline and McFadden netted 13 points each.
 - The Warriors held a slight edge in total field-goal percentage at 44.2-percent to 43.1-percent.
 - The Dutchmen held a strong lead in second-chance points at 16-4.
 - Lyco led in bench points at 19-9.
 - LVC was the leader in points in the paint at 42-34.
 
Playoff Picture
Thanks to today's key win, the Dutchmen have vaulted into a tie for third place with Widener at 6-4. Messiah (10-0) and Lycoming (7-3) sit in the first and second spots, respectively.
 
Who's Next?
LVC is next in action on Wednesday, Jan. 30 when the Dutchmen welcome Widener to Sorrentino Gymnasium for another vital conference matchup at 6 p.m.
 
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