Lebanon Valley 80, Messiah 67
 
LVC Starters
Baker, Tucker, L. Garcia, Jones, Deihm
 
Messiah Starters
Reames, Light, Carter, Ramsey, Porter
 
How It Happened
ANNVILLE, Pa. – After 336 days without NCAA competition, Lebanon Valley College Athletics finally returned to action this even when the Flying Dutchmen's Men's Basketball squad took down Messiah University 80-67 in MAC Commonwealth action. LVC improved to 1-0, while the Falcons dropped to 0-1.
 
Tonight's game opened up as a close one, as Cam Carter dropped a 3-pointer with 15:12 left in the opening half to even the score at 10-10. Collin Jones, who enjoyed a stellar evening, then put the Dutchmen back up by three with a triple off an assist from Luis Garcia. That trey sparked an impressive 20-4 run by LVC, capped by L. Garcia's free throw with 5:12 to go in the first that made it a 28-12 home-team advantage.
 
At the 2:14 mark of the opening half, the Dutchmen stretched their lead out to what ended up being the largest of the night, as Jaylen Reichner knocked down a triple to put the Dutchmen ahead by 18 at 37-19. LVC held on to its double-digit lead for the remainder of the period and went into the second with a comfortable 41-27 advantage.
 
Messiah came out hot in the early stages of the second half and began the period on an 11-5 run to come to within eight at 46-38 with 16:55 remaining, but a layup from Jones, followed by a good free throw and another layup, put the Dutchmen back on top by double digits at 51-38 with 16 minutes to go.
 
From there, LVC held a comfortable double-digit lead until Carter hit another trey with the Falcons with 6:46 to go in the game, pushing the visitors to within nine at 67-58. LVC again had the answer, however, as Justin Baker netted six consecutive points, followed by Jones' deep 3-pointer that iced the game for LVC and put them ahead for good at 76-66 with 3:13 remaining.
 
Inside the Numbers
 - Collin Jones stuffed the stat sheet, going for 24 points (9-of-13 from the floor), 14 rebounds, and three steals.
 - Zach Tucker scored 17 points and hauled in eight rebounds.
 - Justin Baker netted 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting and added three boards and three steals.
 - Luis Garcia was also in double digits in points as he scored 11 and brought down three rebounds.
 - Bryce Diehl ended with six points and seven rebounds off the bench.
 - Cam Carter paced Messiah's offense with 27 points.
 - EJ Porter scored 12 points for the Falcons.
 - LVC led for 37:50 out of 40 minutes of action.
 - The Dutchmen shot 46.2% from the field, while Messiah shot 42.9%.
 - LVC held an overwhelming advantage in points in the paint at 46-18.
 
Who's Next?
LVC and Messiah will battle again tomorrow in Grantham. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
 
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