Lebanon Valley 74, Messiah 67
 
LVC Starters
Baker, Tucker, Catanzaro, Covey, Deihm
 
Messiah Starters
Sareyka, Darville, Krout, Eberle, Porter
 
How It Happened
ANNVILLE, Pa. – Lebanon Valley won its second consecutive MAC Commonwealth contest after taking down Messiah 74-67 on Wednesday evening. The Flying Dutchmen improved to 8-9, 3-5 MACC, while the Falcons fell to 8-8, 2-6 MACC. At tonight's game, the LVC and Messiah coaches joined coaches across the country and wore sneakers to support Coaches vs. Cancer.
 
LVC took an eight-point lead into the second half at 35-27, but the Dutchmen's lead quickly evaporated in the early stages of the second, as Messiah began the half on an 11-2 run to take a 38-37 lead after Josh Darville knocked down a triple with 17:36 to go. Then, with the game knotted at 47-47 with 12:03 left, Luis Garcia hit a layup, followed by Joe Wright's layup after a steal that made it 51-47 with 11:32 remaining. Wright proceeded to score four consecutive points after his layup, making it 55-47 with 10:01 to go, followed by Mason Green's layup that quickly put the Dutchmen on top by 10 at 57-47 with 9:18 remaining.
 
Down the stretch, the visiting Falcons cut the deficit to five at 61-56 with 5:22 after Colin Sareyka hit a 3-pointer, but the Dutchmen clamped down on defense and didn't allow Messiah to get any closer. In the final 4:30 of action, LVC made 11-of-13 from the charity stripe, nixing any idea of a Messiah comeback, en route to a 74-67 conference victory.
 
The Dutchmen jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the opening stages of the first half after Zach Tucker's jumper put the home team ahead by five with 16:19 to go in the opening half. The Falcons battled back and came to within one at 9-8, but Justin Baker hit back-to-back shots from the free throw line, followed by Green's trey at 10:47 that put LVC up 14-8. Wright, who provided sparks off the bench all game, then hit two straight layups, making it 18-8 in favor of the Dutchmen with 9:25 to go.
 
LVC continued to hold a steady advantage, and with 5:25 left, Tucker drilled a triple from Luis Garcia to put the Dutchmen ahead 27-15. After Collin Jones hit a layup to make it a 14-point lead at 29-15, the Falcons responded with a 10-3 run to come to within five at 30-25 with 1:29 left in the first half. Green had a huge answer, though, and sank a 3-pointer with 1:22 left. After Nate Eberle's layup, Tucker made another layup with 48 ticks on the clock and LVC went into the locker room with an eight-point lead at 35-27.
 
Inside the Numbers
 - Mason Green finished with a team-high 17 points off the bench. He sank four 3-pointers and hauled down five rebounds while notching three steals.
 - Zach Tucker scored 14 points and brought down five rebounds.
 - Collin Jones scored 12 points off the bench and had six boards.
 - Joe Wright scored a career-best 12 points in just 15 minutes of action.
 - Bryce Diehl chipped in eight points for the Dutchmen.
 - EJ Porter paced the Falcons with a game-high 20 points, including five treys.
 - LVC shot 45% from the floor as a team, while Messiah shot 41.3%.
 - The Dutchmen held the overwhelming edge in bench points at 54-7.
 - LVC also led in points in the paint at 42-22.
 
Who's Next?
LVC looks to keep things rolling on Wednesday, Jan. 29, when the Dutchmen play host to Widener at 6 p.m.
 
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