ASTON, Pa. – Ryan Harder led three Lebanon Valley Men's Basketball scorers in double figures on Monday in a close 78-73 defeat at Neuman University in the team's final road non-conference game of the year.
 
The host Knights (9-4) won a back-and-forth battle at The Mirenda Center holding off a late Dutchmen rally in a game that featured 11 lead changes and six ties. LVC (5-5) scored the first seven points of the game and held Neumann off the scoreboard for the first three minutes. Neither team was able to score until Jason Penn knocked down a three-pointer nearly two minutes into play. The Dutchmen stole the ball and Ryan Harder finished at the other end with a jumper in the paint. The senior then gave LVC a 7-0 lead with a bucket off an offensive rebound forcing the Knights to call the first timeout of the game.
 
Neumann came out of the timeout and used an 8-0 run over the two minutes to take an 8-7 lead. Kyle Tang stopped the run with a three pointer and then Neumann tied the game back up at 10. Harder hit threes on two straight possessions and then Evan Smith knocked down a three to give the Dutchmen the largest lead of the game at 19-10 with 12:25 remaining in the half. The Knights responded with the next five points, all on free throws, before Tang hit a driving layup. Neumann continued scoring at the line with two more free throws to cut it to 21-17 at the 10-minute mark.
 
Neither team made a field goal over the next three minutes until the Knights knocked down a three in transition. LVC came right back down the court and Michael Main hit a three off a nice feed from Evin Timochenko. Neumann got the deficit down to three when Tyson Hofsass hit a pair of free throws and then Harder knocked down another three giving the Dutchmen a 30-22 advantage with four minutes left. The Knights held LVC scoreless over the next three minutes and scored nine points to take the lead. Penn sandwiched a layup by the Knights with a bucket and a three pointer to put LVC up 35-33 at the half.
 
Penn started the second half off with a layup before the Knights got two fastbreak scored to even the score up. Neumann used a pair of threes to go up 45-41 before Penn hit a three and then Harder scored on a pull up jumper to give LVC back the lead. Harder used great defense with a block and rebound at the other end before Phil Unangst found Smith open in the corner for a three to give the Dutchmen a 49-45 advantage. The lead was still four when Tang scored on a driving layup to put the Dutchmen up 53-47.
 
Neumann used a 10-0 run over a three-minute span to take a four-point lead with 8:30 on the clock. Then Dutchmen went to work in the paint as Timochenko and Harder scored on consecutive possessions cutting the lead to 1. Neumann got the lead back up to six points at 64-58 with six minutes remaining. LVC quickly tied it up on consecutive trips down the floor as Timochenko powered his way to back-to-back three-point plays. The LVC run continued with a Tang steal leading to a Wil Laskowski pull up along the baseline to give the Dutchmen a 66-64 lead.
 
The Knights tied the game up with a pair of free throws and then hit a three for a 69-66 advantage with 3:37 left. Timochenko cut the lead in half with a bucket underneath with 1:28 on the clock. The Dutchmen had a chance to tie the score up but a turnover with 40 seconds left gave the Knights back the ball. Neumann got the lead up to six at the line. The Dutchmen fought hard and kept hopes alive as Smith knocked down a three with three seconds remaining. The Dutchmen played great defense on the inbound pass but the pass towards midcourt was ruled out on the Dutchmen and Neumann retained possession with under a second left.
 
Inside the Box

• Harder led LVC in scoring with 22 points while shooting 50-percent from the field. The senior knocked down a trio of threes, pulled down six rebounds, and had two blocks. This is his fourth game this year with at least 20 points.
• Penn shot 5-8 from the field with a trio of threes for 13 points. The guard dished out two assists and had a steal.
• Timochenko had a strong second half and finished with 12 points and four rebounds with three assists.
• Tang scored seven points, dished out six assists, and had three rebounds.
• Smith scored nine points on 3-5 shooting from beyond the arch.
• LVC hit a season-high 11 three pointers and shot an excellent 61.1 percent from deep.

Up Next
The Dutchmen will close out non-conference play on Saturday with a 1 p.m. tip against Lycoming College inside Sorrentino Gymnasium in the first home game of 2025.

Stay Connected
Be sure to follow @lvcathletics on Instagram, X, and Facebook for the most in-depth coverage of LVC Athletics.