READING, Pa. – The Lebanon Valley men's basketball team had an outstanding start to the 2025-26 season on Saturday afternoon as the Dutchmen made the short trip to Reading and defeated Penn State Berks 93-75 behind five scorers in double figures.
 
LVC got out to a fast start, scoring 49 points in the first half. Berks won the tip and knocked down a three on the first possession of the game. The Dutchmen answered at the other end as Karson Pavlik knocked down a three. Kyle Tang knocked down a pair of free throws, and then Reed Melvin scored his first collegiate points with a fastbreak layup. Tyler Kerlin hit a pair of free throws to put LVC up 9-3 three minutes in. The Lions scored the next four points to cut the lead to two before Kerline put back his off miss under the hoop. Jason Penn hit a pair of free throws for his first points of the season. Berks hit a three, and Tang answered on the other end with a bucket. The Lions were able to get within two before Penn hit back-to-back threes to push the lead to 21-13 with 11 minutes on the clock.
 
The run continued out of a timeout as Pavlik and Reed scored on layups. Reed had back-to-back steals and fastbreak buckets. The Lions used a pair of jumpers and a three-pointer to get the deficit back down to single digits. Demarcus Bandy blocked a layup, grabbed the rebound, and finished off a layup at the other end with just under eight to go in the half. Berks hit a three, and Reed answered with a three to make it 34-23. The teams traded free throws over the course of three minutes as LVC led by 10 with 4:40 on the clock. Kerlin knocked down a pair of jumpers, and then Michael Main knocked down a three in transition to put the Dutchmen up 43-28. Reed and Luke Chilton scored on layups before the Lions held LVC without a made field goal for the final two minutes of the half. Tang knocked down two free throws to give the Dutchmen a 49-35 halftime lead.
 
The Dutchmen came out shooting in the second half as Tang, Pavlik, and Reed made buckets over the first three minutes on the team's first five possessions of the half. Berks made a pair of threes and two jumpers to cut the lead to 55-45 during the span. Reed knocked down a pair of shots at the line, and then Phil Unangst hit one of two free throws. Berks hit a three with 15:48 on the clock to get the lead back down to single digits at nine. The lead was at 10 when Reed knocked down a jumper in the paint off an assist from Main. The Lions used a 12-4 run to cut the advantage to four at 68-64 with 9:50 on the clock.
 
Tang found Kerlin open for a three to stop the run. The Dutchmen took a charge at the other end of the court before Bandy hit Reed for a three-pointer, and the lead was quickly back to double digits. Berks hit a three, Kerlin and Tang scored on layups, the Lions scored down low, and Bandy finished off a back-and-forth scoring battle with a three-pointer to make it 81-69. Neither team was able to make a field goal over the next four minutes. Kerlin knocked down a pair of free throws, and Reed made a shot at the line to push the lead up to 15. The Dutchmen were able to keep at least a 14-point advantage the rest of the way, ending the game on layups by Reed and Bandy in the final minute.
 
Inside the Box

• Reed had an impressive first game with a game-high 23 points and three rebounds. He added four steals and an assist
• Tang was one point shy of his career-high with 20 points. The guard also dished out eight assists and recorded two steals.
• Kerlin scored a career-high 15 points and grabbed six rebounds.
• Bandy scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds off the bench.
• Penn gave LVC five in double figures with 10 points and seven rebounds. The guard also had three steals.
• Pavlik finished with seven points and three rebounds.
• The 93 points were the most for the Dutchmen in a season opener since 2015 when they defeated Roanoke 101-98 at the Penn State Harrisburg Tip-Off Tournament.
• LVC had a 41-37 rebounding advantage, scored 40 points in the paint, scored 26 points off 20 Berks turnovers, and had 25 fastbreak points.

Up Next
The Dutchmen will be back in action on Tuesday with a trip south to Maryland to face Stevenson University. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. against the Mustangs.

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