WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. ­­– Junior guard Ryan Harder scored 15 points for the Lebanon Valley College men's basketball team in its season opener, as the team dropped a 67-55 game to Lycoming College at Lamade Gymnasium.

Lebanon Valley (0-1) delivered a strong effort against Lycoming (1-0), battling on both sides of the ball throughout the game. The Knights went ahead early in the contest, but the Dutchmen came back and kept the game close through most of the first half. LVC continued to counter Lycoming offensively during the remainder of the game, but the Knights went on to preserve their advantage. 

Lycoming jumped out to a 7-3 lead at the beginning of the first half, but Lebanon Valley responded to tie the game at 7-7 with 13:17 remaining in the stanza. The Dutchmen evened the score with successful layups by junior forward Evin Timochenko and sophomore guard Kyle Tang. The squads then traded baskets until Lycoming was ahead 17-14 with just under six minutes left in the half. During this stretch, LVC put seven points on the board with a jumper by graduate student guard Luis Garcia, a three-pointer by junior guard Evan Smith and a jumper by Tang. 

LVC responded with another layup by Tang to make it a 17-16 game with 4:47 to go in the opening half. The sophomore guard led the program with six points during the first stanza. The Warriors then went on to close out the half on a 12-4 run, taking a 29-20 lead into halftime. The Dutchmen scored on jumpers by Harder and senior guard Jevon Griffin during this stretch, as the team continued to battle offensively near the end of the half. 

The programs went back and forth defensively early in the second half, as the score just advanced to 32-22 two minutes into the stanza. Lebanon Valley then delivered four consecutive points, narrowing their deficit to 32-26 with 14:47 to play. This stretch by LVC was the result of successful jumpers by Harder and Timochenko. Lycoming responded with a 13-4 run, extending its advantage to 45-30 with 11:07 remaining. 

The Flying Dutchmen didn't go down quietly, as the squad answered with an 11-0 stretch to trim its deficit 45-41 with 8:14 to go in the contest. During this run, Griffin converted a three-pointer and a layup, while Timochenko also made a pair of shots. Harder and junior guard Tyson Hosass made a free throw each during this stretch as well. The programs would go on to trade buckets until Lycoming was up 54-48 with just over three minutes to go. The Knights ultimately closed out the contest 67-55, after finishing the game on a 13-7 run. 

Inside the Box Score

• Harder led Lebanon Valley with 15 points, while recording eight rebounds and a steal. 
• Timochenko registered the most rebounds on the team with nine, along with scoring 12 points and logging a steal. 
• Senior guard Jevon Griffin recorded seven points for the Flying Dutchmen. 
• Tang and Garcia dished out a team-most three assists each. 
• Garcia led the program with a pair of steals. 
• The Dutchmen tallied 39 rebounds during the contest. 

Up Next 
The Dutchmen will return to the court at 6 p.m. Saturday, as the program will take on St. John Fisher University at the Penn State Harrisburg Tip-Off Classic in Middletown, Pa. 

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