ANNVILLE, Pa. – The Lebanon Valley men's basketball fought valiantly on Saturday afternoon as they took on Stevens Institute of Technology inside Sorrentino Gymnasium. The Ducks were able to withstand a second-half rally from the Dutchmen to win the game 66-53.
 
Stevens knocked down four three-pointers to take a 12-6 lead in the first six minutes of the game. The Ducks scored the first points of the game almost two minutes in as defense was on full display over the opening minutes. Ryan Harder scored on back-to-back possessions to put LVC up 4-3 before Stevens responded with a pair of treys. The Dutchmen fought right back as Harder hit a jumper and then Wil Laskowski scored in the paint off a nice pass from Kyle Tang. Harder then scored while being fouled and knocked down the shot at the line to bring the Dutchmen within one at 12-11. Stevens responded with a 6-3 run over the next two minutes to go up by four midway through the half.
 
The lead extended to seven on a three before Tang and Braden Bohannon got to the line on back-to-back possession and knocked down three of their four shots. Tang then hit a pull up jumper in the paint to make it 21-19. The Ducks got a score off a timeout at the other end and then after a couple of turnovers, Evan Smith knocked down a transition three. Stevens responded with a 12-0 run over the next four minutes to take a 35-22 lead. The Dutchmen were able to knock down a pair of free throws to get the score to 35-24 heading into the half.
 
Smith began a strong second half by LVC by drawing an offensive foul and then knocking down a three at the other end. Two possessions later, Harder hit a three to bring the Dutchmen within seven at 37-30. The Ducks responded with a three-pointer of their own to go back up double digits. Neither team was able to score over the next four minutes until Tang got a steal and layup while being fouled with 14:38 on the clock. He sank the free throw to make it a seven-point game. The Dutchmen traded buckets with the Ducks ending with a Tyson Hofsass three to cut it to 45-40 with just over 12 minutes to play. Hofsass then made a big play on defense with a block and rebound, passed the ball up to Harder, and Harder knocked down a transition three to make it a one-possession game.
 
The teams traded scores over the next five minutes with Stevens able to get the lead back up to six before Smith knocked down a pair of free throws with six minutes to go making it 53-49. That was as close as LVC would get the rest of the way as Stevens used a 10-0 run over the next four minutes to take a 14-point lead.
 
Inside the Box

• Harder had 15 points for his 16th double-digit scoring game of the year.
• Tang filled the stat sheet with nine points, six rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
• Hofsass also scored nine points and had five rebounds with two blocks.
• Smith hit two threes and was 2-4 at the line for eight points.

Up Next
The Dutchmen will be back in Sorrentino Gymnasium on Wednesday as they welcome Misericordia University to Annville for a 7 p.m. tip.

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