HOBOKEN, N.J. – The Lebanon Valley Men's Basketball team had three scorers in double figures but a strong second half by host Stevens Institute of Technology enabled the Ducks to defeat the Dutchmen 71-62 on Saturday afternoon at Canavan Arena in Hoboken.
 
LVC (10-9, 4-4 MAC Freedom) got off to a great start making four three pointers and adding a pair of mid-range jumpers to take a 16-2 lead over the first 4:30. Ryan Harder got the scoring going with a three on the Dutchmen's first offensive possession of the game. Braden Bohannon and Jason Penn added threes off assists from each other to make it 9-0. The Ducks (16-3, 8-0 MAC Freedom) scored their first points on a transition layup. The Dutchmen responded with a pair of buckets from Harder and Bohannon. Harder forced the Ducks to call a timeout as he hit a three in transition.
 
The teams traded buckets in the paint out of the timeout and LVC held an 18-6 lead with 13:30 to go in the half. The Ducks held the Dutchmen scoreless for the next 4:30 but the LVC defense did a great job and held Stevens to just four points during the scoreless drought. Evan Smith knocked down a three and then Bohannon scored a driving layup to push the lead back up to 12 with just under eight to play in the half. Stevens used a pair of threes to highlight a 9-2 run over a span of three minutes to cut the advantage to five. The Ducks used another three to make it a one-possession game as the Dutchmen received made free throws by Tang and Wil Laskowski. Evin Timochenko scored underneath the basket to make it 31-27 with just over a minute left. The Ducks knocked down a three before the teams traded free throws. Harder gave the Dutchmen a 36-32 halftime lead with a big three pointer with 10 seconds to go.
 
Timochenko began the second half with a pair of jumpers in the paint but each time the Ducks answered at the other end. The senior forward gave the Dutchmen a 42-39 lead with a pair of free throws before the Ducks used a 13-0 run over a span of three minutes with three made three pointers to take a 52-42 lead. Harder scored on a driving layup to get the deficit back to single digits. The Ducks responded with a three, two made free throws, and a layup to take a 60-45 advantage with 11 minutes on the clock. Phil Unangst and Bohannon scored on back-to-back trips down the floor to get the score to 60-49 with 9:30 remaining.
 
The lead was still 11 with five minutes left after the teams traded scores. Stevens held the Dutchmen scoreless for the next two minutes and hit four free throws to increase the lead to 15. LVC responded with a 8-0 run to get within seven. Penn knocked down a free throw to start the run. Harder had steals on back-to-back possessions and hit two foul shots and a driving layup. After a stop at the other end, Bohannon found Harder open for a transition three to make it 69-62 with a minute left. That was as close as the Dutchmen would get as a pair of threes over the final minute were off the mark.
 
Inside the Box

• Harder had another strong game with a game-high 22 points. The senior shot 50 percent from the floor and knocked down four three pointers. He also had four rebounds and two steals.
• Bohannon had 12 points and five steals with three rebounds and three assists. The guard was 5-10 from the floor including one made three.
• Timochenko poured in 10 points and grabbed four rebounds. He pulled down his 500th rebound of his career to become the 16th in program history to grab 500 rebounds.
• Laskowski scored five of his seven points at the free throw line.
• Penn led the team with five assists and five steals. He scored four points and pulled down a rebound.

Up Next
The Dutchmen will be back on the road on Wednesday with a trip north to Dallas where they will take on Misericordia University. Tip-off inside the Anderson Center is scheduled for 7 p.m. against the Cougars.

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