ANNVILLE, Pa. – Lebanon Valley sophomore Jason Penn scored a season-high 21 points for the Dutchmen men's basketball team in a 90-62 defeat to visiting Lancaster Bible College on Wednesday evening at Sorrentino Gymnasium in Annville.
 
LBC (8-2) got out to a strong start against the Dutchmen (2-6) by scoring seven points on their first five possessions. Penn put the Dutchmen on the board about three minutes in as he knocked down a corner three off a pass from Kyle Tang. The defense held the Chargers scoreless over the next two minutes as Giovanni Sejuste knocked down a free throw and Demarcus Bandy hit a turn-around jumper on the left wing to make it a one-point game. Lancaster Bible ended its drought with a three-pointer, and Penn countered with a three-pointer in the opposite corner of his first shot to make it 10-9. The Chargers used an 8-0 run over the next three minutes to build a nine-point lead. Tang knocked down one of two free throws before Sejuste scored on a pull-up jumper near the right elbow. Karson Pavlik kept the deficit at eight with a pull-up jumper at the free throw line with 9:20 left in the half.
 
The Chargers grew the lead to 13 with a three-pointer and a bucket in the paint before Penn got out in transition and scored on a driving layup while being fouled. He converted the shot at the line to make it 27-17. LBC scored at the other end, and then the Dutchmen used a 6-0 run to get within six with five minutes left. Pavlik hit a jumper on the left wing, Tang scored on a driving layup, and then Bandy hit two shots at the line. Lancaster Bible responded with a traditional three-point play and a layup to push the advantage back to double digits. Pavlik knocked down a three near the corner to make it 34-26. A pair of buckets in the paint pushed the LBC lead back up to 12. The teams traded free throws over the next three minutes until Penn knocked down another corner three-pointer with 49 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to 44-34. The Chargers scored on a layup to take a 12-point halftime advantage.
 
Lancaster Bible scored on the first possession of the second half. The Dutchmen quickly got the lead down to six points as Bandy hit a corner three-pointer, Phil Unangst scored down low off a nice pass from Bandy at the top of the key, and then Penn knocked down a three-pointer at the top of the key. The Chargers answered with a 13-0 run over the next five minutes to build the advantage up to 61-42. Tyler Kerlin found Pavlik open on the right wing for a three-pointer to end the run. LBC started to slowly pull away, but a layup by Kerlin and a fastbreak jumper by Penn kept the lead under 20 points with around 11 minutes left on the clock.
 
The Chargers knocked down a pair of threes and added a free throw to take a 75-49 lead at the second-to-last media timeout. Penn knocked down a pair of shots at the line, and then Sejuste pulled up right outside the paint for a bucket. Gannon Perlini knocked down a three-pointer on the left wing to get the advantage down to 77-56. LBC scored the next 10 points over a four-minute stretch. Brendan Lonergan put back an offensive rebound to end LVC's scoring drought, and then the senior hit a hook shot in the paint with a little over a minute to play. Owen Chernich scored on a pair of foul shots in the final minute for the Dutchmen.
 
Inside the Box

• Penn scored at least 20 points for the third time in his career. The sophomore knocked down four three-pointers and was 5-for-5 at the free-throw line. His season-high 21 points came in a season-high 33 minutes played.
• Pavlik scored in double figures for the first time this season. The senior had a season-high 10 points on 4-for-5 shooting from the field, including 2-for-2 from beyond the arc.
• Bandy scored nine points and grabbed five rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench.
• Sejuste finished with six points, four rebounds, and two assists.
• Unangst had a team-high seven rebounds and scored two points.
• Lonergan made both shots he took to score four points.
•  Tang had three points, three rebounds, three assists, and one steal.
• The Dutchmen tied their season-high with eight made three-pointers.

Up Next
LVC will be back in Sorrentino Gymnasium on Saturday with a non-conference matchup against former conference rival Messiah University. Tip-off against the Falcons is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Annville.

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