ANNVILLE, Pa. – Jason Penn hit a three pointer with 28 seconds left to put the Lebanon Valley Men's Basketball team up for good in a close 79-75 victory over visiting FDU-Florham on Wednesday evening inside Sorrentino Gymnasium.

The Dutchmen (11-11, 5-6 MAC Freedom) got off to a great start as they held the Devils (8-14, 2-9 MAC Freedom) scoreless for the first five minutes of the game. Evin Timochenko scored the first bucket of the game and then Kyle Tang had a steal and layup in the first minute. Ryan Harder increased the lead with a three pointer before Timochenko hit back-to-back jumpers to make it 11-0. After the Devils made a full squad substitution, Braden Bohannon knocked down a three to put the Dutchmen up by 14. FDU-Florham finally got on the board with a three and LVC responded right back as Harder found Timochenko underneath the rim for two. Neither team scored for the next three minutes until Harder hit a pull-up jumper with 11 minutes on the clock to give LVC their biggest lead of the half at 18-3.

The Devils started to slowly chip away at the lead starting with a pair of buckets in the paint. Harder had a tradition three-point play before a 5-0 run over a span of a minute got FDU-Florham within nine at 21-12. The teams traded scores over the next two minutes and the Dutchmen led by 10 with 3:33 left following a Penn free throw on a flopping technical. The Devils used five made free throws on their next two possessions to make it 29-21. Harder hit a three for the Dutchmen on their offensive trip down the floor. FDU-Florham continued their strong run to end the half and made three free throws to make it 31-26 at the break.

Bohannon scored the first five points of the second half on a jumper and a three in transition. The Devils responded with a 6-2 run to get the lead back to seven. Penn started and ended an 8-0 run for the Dutchmen with a pair of threes to put LVC ahead by 15 points at 46-31. Timochenko answered a FDU-Florham three pointer with a pair of buckets in the paint to give the Dutchmen their largest lead of the game at 16 points with 15 minutes on the clock. A pair of threes for the visitors cut the deficit quickly down to 10. Bohannon hit a pair of shots at the line before another three made it a single-digit advantage at 52-43. Bohannon hit a pair of layups, but each score was answered at the other end as the Dutchmen led 56-47 midway through the half.

Tang scored on a layup to push the lead back to double digits. The teams traded scores as the Dutchmen led 62-51 with eight minutes left. The Devils went on a 5-0 run over the next 90 seconds to cut the advantage to six. Timochenko stopped the run with a layup off a great pas from the baseline by Bohannon. A three and a bucket in the paint for the Devils made it a one-possession game at 64-61 with a little over five minutes to play. Penn scored on a driving layup, but the Devils countered with a layup, a three, and then a putback layup to take their first lead of the game at 68-66 with under three to play. Bohannon tied the game back up with a bucket underneath. A traditional three-point play gave FDU-Florham the lead with 1:21 on the clock. Penn found Bohannon cutting to the rim for a bucket with just over a minute to play. Penn came up with a big steal on defense and then Harder found him open on the right wing for a huge three to put the Dutchmen up by two with 28 seconds left.

The Devils missed a three at the other end as Harder grabbed the rebound and was fouled after running the ball over the mid-court line. He knocked down his two shots with 12 seconds on the clock. The Devils kept things interesting with a three pointer but Harder was fouled on the inbound pass and knocked down another two shots. The Dutchmen didn't give the Devils a chance to shoot a three on their next possession smartly fouling as soon as they advanced the ball over midcourt. They made the first attempt and missed the second on purpose. The Devils got the offensive rebound, but the rebound shoot went off the side of the backboard and into the safe hands of Bohannon.
 
Inside the Box

• Bohannon had a career-high 22 points with 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. He was 8-14 from the field and 4-7 at the line with two made three-pointers.
• Harder continued his strong week with 19 points and eight rebounds. Nine of his points came at the line and he dished out three assists.
• Timochenko poured in 18 points while shooting 9-12 from the field. He pulled down six rebounds and had one block.
• Penn was the fourth scorer in double figures with 14 points. The guard was 3-5 on threes including hitting the go-ahead shot. He also had two rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
• Tang led the team in assists with seven while scoring six points and pulling down two rebounds.
• The Dutchmen shot 50 percent for the fourth time this year and had 38 points in the paint. The Dutchmen had a 38-28 rebounding advantage including 12 offensive rebounds.
• LVC scored 22 points off 14 FDU-Florham turnovers.
• The win kept the team's postseason hopes alive as they moved into a tie with King's for sixth in the conference standings. The Dutchmen are just a game back of a four-team tie for second with three regular season games remaining.

Up Next
The Dutchmen can move above one of those teams tied ahead of them on Saturday with a trip to Center Valley where they will go for the season sweep over DeSales University. Tip-off at Billera Hall is set for 3 p.m.

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