Men’s Basketball Battles Tough in Conference Opener against Stevens
ANNVILLE, Pa. – Ryan Harder scored a game-high 18 points for the Lebanon Valley Men's Basketball team in a hard-fought 72-57 defeat to defending conference champion Stevens Institute of Technology on Wednesday evening in the conference opener at Sorrentino Gymnasium.
The Ducks (9-3, 1-0 MAC Freedom) scored first but LVC (6-6, 0-1 MAC Freedom) came right back down the floor and
Wil Laskowski found
Evin Timochenko open in the middle of the paint for a bucket. The Dutchmen got a stop on defense and
Jason Penn found Timochenko open in the paint for another turnaround jumper to give LVC a 4-2 lead. The Ducks hit a three on their next possession and the Dutchmen responded with a
Kyle Tang bucket off a feed from Timochenko. The teams locked down on defense over the next five minutes and the teams traded five scores over the timeframe. Stevens led 11-10 when
Michael Main found
Evan Smith open for a corner three putting the Dutchmen back on top by two. The Ducks scored to tie the game and then Harder knocked down a jumper to make it 15-13 midway through the half.
The teams were scoreless over the next 90 seconds before Stevens was able to tie the score up at 15. LVC came down the floor and answered as Smith received a short pass from
Karson Pavlik in the corner and knocked down another three. The Ducks countered with a three at the other end with a foul. They made the shot at the line to take a one-point edge and after neither team was able to score for nearly a three-minute stretch, knocked down a jumper in the paint to go up 21-18. The Ducks continued their run with a fastbreak bucket and LVC stopped its scoreless drought with another Smith three-pointer to get within two with just under three to play. Stevens got a pair of free throws and a three from the top of the key to push the lead to seven before
Ryan Harder hit a three in the final minute. The Ducks countered with a bucket down low to take a 30-24 lead into the locker rooms.
Harder began the scoring in the second half with a baseline jumper. The Ducks used a 9-0 run over four minutes to increase the advantage to 39-26. The Dutchmen responded with a small run of their own as Timochenko scored on a layup and then Harder and
Tyler Kerlin hit back-to-back threes to make it a five-point game at 39-34. LVC still trailed by five after a Timochenko bucket with 12:30 remaining but Stevens was able to push the advantage back up to 12 with a 7-0 run over the next two minutes.
Kerlin fueled a quick response from the Dutchmen with seven out of the next nine points to bring it back to a one-possession game with 7:30 remaining. The guard scored on back-to-back layups off beautiful passes from
Braden Bohannon and Tang. Tang had a steal and easy bucket before finding Kerlin open in transition for a three to make it 48-45. Stevens stopped the run and scored the next six points in a minute span. Harder knocked down another jumper and then Stevens hit consecutive threes to build the lead back up to 16 at 63-47. Penn stopped the run with a bucket and Harder hit a three. After trading shots at the line, the Ducks led by 13 before Harder hit a three to make it a 10-point game with 37 seconds left. That was as close as LVC would get as Stevens finished the game at the line making five of six shots to set the final score.
Inside the Box
- Harder scored a game-high 18 points on seven field goals including a season-high four threes. The senior has scored 18 or more points in nine games this year. He also had five rebounds and two steals.
- Timochenko finished with 10 points and five rebounds with three assists. It is his 10th game in double figures scoring this season.
- Kerlin had a season-high 10 points on 4-8 shooting with two threes.
- Tang wasn't too far off from a triple-double with six points, eight assists, and seven rebounds. This is the third time this season he recorded at least five points, five rebounds, and five assists in a single game.
- Smith made a trio of three pointers for nine points.
- The Dutchmen recorded 17 assists on 23 made field goals.
Up Next
LVC will be back in action on Saturday with the first conference road game of the year at Delaware Valley University in Doylestown. Tip-off against the Aggies is set for 3 p.m. at James Work Gymnasium.
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