Lebanon Valley 75, Alvernia 74
 
LVC Starters
Baker, Tucker, Anderson, Covey, Deihm
 
Alvernia Starters
Green, Thomas, Dadson, Taylor, Walker
 
How It Happened
ANNVILLE, Pa. – Lebanon Valley edged Alvernia 75-74 thanks to a pair of clutch free throws by Zach Tucker in the final seconds on Saturday afternoon in the Dutchmen's season finale. LVC finished the season 8-17, 5-11 MAC Commonwealth, while the Golden Wolves dropped to 11-14, 6-10 MAC Commonwealth.
 
Today also served as the Dutchmen's annual Senior Day, and before the game, student manager Isaac Reese, student assistant coach Andrew Capodanno, and team captain Chris Anderson were honored.
 
With 2:01 remaining in the second half, Jeremy Deihm hit a layup to give LVC a six-point advantage at 73-67. Alvernia answered, however, with back-to-back layups to come to within two at 73-71 with 42 ticks left. From there, the teams traded empty possessions and with the visitors still down by two with four seconds left, the Golden Wolves' Nick Youngkin drove to the hoop and scored, while getting fouled. He sank the free throw and Alvernia found themselves up by one with four seconds left.
 
On the Dutchmen's ensuing inbound play, Tucker ran nearly the length of the court but was fouled with 0.7 seconds left and he went to the line for the one-and-one with the game in his hands. He sank the first to tie the game, then saw the next one swish through the hoop to give LVC the 75-74 lead. With barely any time remaining, Alvernia was unable to get a shot off, and the Dutchmen finished off the season on a high note, winning 75-74.
 
It was close early on in the game with the score knotted at 8-8 until LVC netted seven consecutive points, including five from Trevor Covey, to take a 15-8 lead with 14:09 left in the opening half. The Golden Wolves fought back and came to within two at 19-17 with 11:32 to go, but the Dutchmen scored six straight to go back up by eight at 25-17. This time, it was the visitors who answered with a spurt, an 8-0 run to even the contest at 25-25 with 6:50 remaining. For the next few minutes of action, the game went back-and-forth, but in the final minutes, LVC was able to open up a sizable lead at 39-32 and went into the second half up by seven.
 
Needing a win to have a chance at the postseason tournament, the Golden Wolves didn't go away and kept it close in the second half. The Dutchmen went ahead by as many as eight after two straight makes from the charity stripe to make it 56-48 LVC with 12:03 to go, but Alvernia answered and scored six straight to again even the game, this time at 56-56 with 8:19 remaining. It was tight from there on out, but eventually, thanks to Tuckers free throws at the end, LVC played spoiler and came away with the close win.
 
Inside the Numbers
 - Deihm paced LVC's offense with 21 points on 10-of-15 shooting.
 - Covey finished with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting and added five rebounds, two assists, and two blocks.
 - Tucker went for 12 points, seven rebounds, and two assists. He was a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line.
 - Playing in his last game, Anderson had eight points, a game-high eight helpers, and five boards.
 - Justin Baker was LVC's fourth player in double digits in points at 10.
 - Mason Green added seven points off the bench and three rebounds.
 - Alvernia's Malik Green led all scorers with 24 points.
 - The Dutchmen shot an impressive 52.7-percent from the floor as a team.
 - The Golden Wolves held the slight edge in bench points at 17-10.
 - LVC held the advantage in points in the paint at 50-38.
 
Stay Connected
Be sure to follow @lvcathletics on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for the most in-depth coverage of LVC athletics.