ANNVILLE, Pa. – The Lebanon Valley men's basketball team overcame a 20-point first-half deficit with a huge 83-69 victory over visiting FDU-Florham on Wednesday evening at Sorrentino Gymnasium in a Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom battle.
 
It was a tale of two halves for the Dutchmen (4-12, 2-3 MAC Freedom) as they scored a season-high 57 second-half points. It marks the third time LVC has scored at least 50 points in a half this year. The Devils (6-10, 1-4 MAC Freedom) used seven made three-pointers in the first half to build a 39-26 lead. Giovanni Sejuste scored the first points of the game as he grabbed an offensive rebound and put the ball back up for two points. The Devils tied the score at the other end and a couple of possessions later, took the lead with a made free throw.
 
Sejuste tipped in a missed shot to give LVC the lead at 4-3. FDU-Florham made a driving layup to retake the lead at the first media timeout. Demarcus Bandy tied the score out of the timeout with a made free throw. The teams traded shots at the line with Jason Penn knocking down a pair of shots to make the score 7-7. Sejuste drove to the hoop for a layup, and Penn got out in transition after a Devils bucket to put the Dutchmen ahead 11-9.
 
FDU-Florham knocked down its first three-pointer and added a free throw to go up by two. Penn stepped around a defender and hit a shot just inside the foul line to even the score. The teams then traded buckets with Phil Unangst scoring on a baseline drive. The Dutchmen led by one with 9:16 to go in the half, following a Kyle Tang driving layup.
 
The Devils called a timeout and came out of the break with a pair of three-pointers to go up by five. They added two more three-pointers after a media timeout to push the advantage to 11 with six minutes left in the half. The run continued with three made free throws after the Dutchmen fouled on a three-pointer, and then FDU knocked down two more three-pointers to go up by 20 at 37-17 with 4:20 left in the half. The Devils made six three-pointers during the 21-0 run.
 
Owen Chernich ended the run with a driving layup. The Devils missed a three and Michael Main hit a turnaround jumper just outside the paint to cut the deficit to 16 with 2:30 on the clock. Neither team scored again until FDU had a layup with just under a minute to go in the half. Penn found Chernich open for a corner three-pointer, and then Bandy gave the squad momentum with a steal and bucket to close out the half.
 
The Dutchmen locked down on defense to begin the second half and didn't allow the Devils to score for the first five minutes. Offensively, the team saw a lot of production, using a 16-0 run starting with a Bandy steal and Sejuste layup. Tang got the deficit down to single digits with a traditional three-point play on a driving layup. Bandy and Unangst came up with a pair of steals, and LVC had back-to-back tip-in buckets by Unangst and Sejuste to make it 39-35. Sejuste hit a three-pointer on the left wing, and then Bandy gave the Dutchmen the lead as he jumped the passing lane with a steal and bucket.
 
Tang found Sejuste open for a turnaround jumper to push the advantage to three before FDU-Florham made a three-pointer for its first points of the half to even the score at 42. Bandy had another steal and bucket to put LVC back ahead. FDU-Florham made a three-pointer to take its final lead of the night at 45-44. Penn and Tang had back-to-back layups to give LVC the 48-45 advantage. Tang added a free throw to complete his second three-point play of the night. The Devils cut the deficit to two before a big 7-0 run by the Dutchmen gave them a 56-47 advantage with 9:27 left. Main started the run with a layup and ended the run with a three-point play on a layup while being fouled. Tyler Kerlin scored underneath the hoop for his first points of the evening.
 
The teams traded buckets in the paint as Sejuste drove to the rim and then Bandy knocked down a jumper just inside the three-point line. The Dutchmen led by seven at 60-53 with seven minutes left when Penn started a big 9-0 run with a corner three-pointer. Sejuste went to the line on back-to-back possessions and made all four of his shots. Kerlin drove to the hoop for two, and then Bandy gave the Dutchmen their biggest lead of the night with yet another steal and bucket, turning it into a three-point play as he was fouled during the layup.
 
The Devils were able to cut the lead down to 16 over the next two minutes with Penn hitting a pair of free throws and Sejuste scoring on a reverse layup. A Tang free throw gave LVC a 77-60 advantage with 3:35 to go. The Devils fought back and scored six straight points to get the deficit down to 11. Sejuste ended all hopes of a comeback as he collected a pass from Tang and threw down an emphatic dunk coming out of a timeout. FDU-Florham got it back down to 10, but Kerlin and Tang made free throws over the final minute, and LVC held onto the ball to run out the clock.
 
Inside the Box

• Sejuste fueled the second-half rally with 19 of his game-high 25 points. The guard recorded his second double-double as he pulled down 10 rebounds, including five on the offensive glass. Sejuste has scored at least 24 points in the past three games.
• Bandy had a great defensive game with seven steals and two blocks. The first-year scored 12 points and grabbed four rebounds.
• Penn scored 13 points with three rebounds and two blocks.
• Tang was the fourth scorer in double figures with 11 points and seven rebounds. He also dished out four assists.
• Main added seven points and four rebounds while Kerlin scored six.
• The Dutchmen scored 48 points in the paint and had 30 points off 21 FDU turnovers.
• LVC pulled down a season-high 43 rebounds and had a 43-33 advantage on the glass. They scored 19 second-chance points off 15 offensive rebounds.
• The defense had a season-high 14 steals and a season-high five blocked shots.
• LVC scored a season-high 57 points in the second half. They also scored 51 points in the second half against Messiah and 55 points in the first half against Elizabethtown.

Up Next
The Dutchmen will be back at home to face the defending conference champion, Delaware Valley University, on Saturday. Tipoff against the Aggies is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Hot Dog Frank Day at Sorrentino Gymnasium.

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