WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – The Lebanon Valley men's basketball team outscored host Penn College 15-2 over the first five minutes of the game on Friday evening to defeat the Wildcats 89-78 at Bardo Gymnasium. The Dutchmen had four scorers in double figures and never trailed in the game.
 
Penn College (0-6) won the opening tip before Kyle Tang stepped into the passing lane and stole the ball for an easy layup to give the Dutchmen (2-2) the lead. The Wildcats evened the score at the other end before LVC scored the next 13 points. Tang found Reed Melvin open for a three, and then Jason Penn scored the next seven points on a driving layup, a fastbreak bucket off a long outlet pass from Tyler Kerlin, and then a three-pointer. The run continued after a Penn timeout as Demarcus Bandy knocked down a three-pointer to push the advantage to 15-2.
 
The Wildcats stopped the run with a layup. The offense struggled to score over the next five minutes, but the defense held strong, allowing just a three-pointer and a made free throw as the Wildcats cut the deficit to 15-8. Tang ended the scoreless drought with a free throw, and after a steal by Kerlin, Tang found Melvin open for a jumper to put the lead back up to 10.
 
A Melvin three-pointer was sandwiched by a pair of buckets by the Wildcats before a made free throw and a three-pointer cut the LVC lead to five points with just over six minutes to play in the half. The Dutchmen answered with a big 14-0 run over the next three minutes. Penn started the run with a three-pointer. Gannon Perlini knocked down a shot, and then Giovanni Sejuste stole the ball and found Penn in transition for a fastbreak layup. Penn knocked down the front end of two shots at the line, and Phil Unangst stole the ball and found Perlini in transition for a layup. Sejuste continued the run with a driving layup before Perlini stole the ball and gave the ball to Bandy for a dunk to push the advantage to 35-16.
 
The Wildcats scored seven of the next nine points to bring the deficit to 14. Tang pushed the score to 40-23 with two minutes to go in the half with a three off an assist from Bandy. The teams traded buckets over the next minute, with Luke Chilton finding Kerlin underneath to hoop. The final minute consisted of six made free throws, with Penn making four and Chilton making two.
 
LVC came out of the break strong as Karson Pavlik knocked down a jumper, stole the ball, and Tang found Melvin down low for a layup. After a minute without a score, Penn scored their first points of the half with a driving layup. Penn countered at the other end as he drove past the defender to get to the rim. The Wildcats hit a three-pointer and added a bucket down low to cut the lead to 50-36 with a little over 16 minutes to play.
 
Melvin powered through a foul for a bucket underneath the hoop and knocked down the shot at the line. The Wildcats scored at the other end before Tang knocked down a pair of shots at the line. Penn College scored the next four points, and LVC answered right back with a pair of free throws by Bandy and a driving layup by Tang. The Wildcats knocked down a three-pointer before Melvin and Bandy scored on back-to-back layups with 11 minutes on the clock. After a bucket by the Wildcats out of the timeout, Melvin made another traditional three-point play. Penn College used an 8-3 run to get the deficit down to 69-55.
 
Bandy and Sejuste stopped the run with a pair of layups that pushed the lead back up to 18. The Dutchmen took their largest lead of the game at 22 points as Sejuste scored on a driving layup and then knocked down a three. A pair of layups by the Wildcats brought the lead to 78-60with 5:35 on the clock. Chilton made the back end of two shots at the line, the Wildcats hit a three, and then Michael Main found Sejuste in transition for a quick score. The hosts used an 11-2 run to cut the lead to nine with three minutes left.
 
Bandy knocked down a three to get the advantage back to double digits. The Wildcats scored on a pair of shots at the line before Penn made one of two free throws. Tang knocked down a pair of free throws with just over a minute left before the Wildcats scored on a layup to set the final score.
 
Inside the Box

• Five Dutchmen scored in double figures, including three with a game-high 18 points each. LVC shot 48.4% from the field, making a season-high 31 field goals.
• Penn led the early charge and finished with a season-high 18 points and four rebounds. Melvin also had 18 points and four rebounds. Bandy added a season-high 18 points and three rebounds.
• Tang flirted with a double-double, scoring 12 points and dishing out seven assists. The senior also grabbed a team-high five rebounds.
• Sejuste scored 11 points on 5-for-6 shooting. Perlini added four points while Kerlin and Chilton had three each. Pavlik rounded out the scoring with two points.
• The Dutchmen forced the Wildcats into 21 turnovers and scored 31 points off the turnovers. They added 15 fastbreak points and 40 points in the paint.
• LVC knocked down eight three-pointers and was 19-for-31 at the free-throw line.
• Offensively, the Dutchmen took care of the ball with a season-low 11 turnovers and a season-high 18 assists.

Up Next
Lebanon Valley will face local rival, Elizabethtown College, on Tuesday, Nov. 25, in the annual Thanksgiving week battle with the Blue Jays. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Thompson Gymnasium in Elizabethtown.

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