ANNVILLE, Pa. – The Lebanon Valley men's basketball team posted a second consecutive thrilling home win on Saturday, knocking off defending conference champion Delaware Valley University, 79-76 in overtime at Sorrentino Gymnasium on Hot Dog Frank Day.
 
The Dutchmen (5-12, 3-3 MAC Freedom) evened their conference record with an important home victory over the Aggies (8-9, 2-4 MAC Freedom). The game was a battle with 10 lead changes and 11 ties. The Dutchmen forced turnovers on DVU's first two offensive possessions, but missed their first four shots on offense. Phil Unangst knocked away the ball and found Demarcus Bandy streaking to the rim for the first points of the game, nearly two and a half minutes in. Unangst found Giovanni Sejuste open underneath the rim in between a pair of DVU three-pointers as the Aggies took a 6-4 lead. The lead grew to four as the Aggies got out in transition and made a quick layup heading into the first media timeout.
 
LVC responded quickly as Sejuste tied the score with a layup and turnaround jumper just outside the paint. The teams traded buckets with Sejuste putting back an offensive rebound before the Aggies used a 6-0 run over three possessions to take a 16-10 advantage. Sejuste knocked down a corner jumper just inside the line to get LVC within four. The deficit was at six with 8:32 left in the half when Reed Melvin made a traditional three-point play, and Tyler Kerlin got a steal and bucket to get the lead down to one at 20-19.
 
The Aggies answered with a three-pointer to spark a 10-0 run that gave them the biggest lead of the game at 30-19 with 5:12 to play in the half. LVC locked down defensively and didn't allow the Aggies to score for the remainder of the half, using an 11-0 run to even the score. Kyle Tang grabbed a defensive rebound and sent a long pass up court to Jason Penn for a bucket to begin the run. Melvin scored down low, and then Penn knocked down a step-back three-pointer on the left wing. Tang had a pull-up jumper in the middle of the paint in the final minute before Sejuste hit a pair of free throws on the final play of the half.
 
The second half began with a driving layup by the visitors. Sejuste answered at the other end with a bucket in the paint. DVU knocked down a three-pointer before a 5-0 run gave LVC the lead. Tang scored on a fastbreak off a steal by Bandy, and then Melvin hit a corner three-pointer off a pass from Tang. Delaware Valley countered with the next four points to retake the lead. Sejuste made one of two free throws, and then Unangst knocked down a pair of shots at the line to give LVC a 40-39 advantage.
 
There were two more lead changes over the next two minutes as the Aggies scored three points, and then Bandy made a traditional three-point play after being fouled on a pull-up jumper in the paint. The Dutchmen drew an offensive charge on defense, and then Sejuste hit Unangst underneath the rim for two. DVU knocked down a three-pointer to tie the score at 45 before LVC scored six straight points. Tang had a pair of driving layups during the run, while Sejuste hit a turnaround jumper in the paint along the baseline.
 
The Aggies made a pair of free throws and a three-pointer, but each time LVC responded as Melvin found Unangst for another layup, and then the first-year made all three free throws after being fouled on a shot from the right wing. A traditional three-point play cut the advantage back to three. Melvin knocked down another corner three-pointer, and then Karson Pavlik put back an offensive rebound to give LVC its largest lead of the day at 61-53 with 6:33 remaining. DVU made a fastbreak layup and then knocked down a pair of free throws to cut the deficit in half.
 
Sejuste and Tang made layups, and each time Delaware Valley answered with a layup to keep the advantage at four heading into the final media timeout of the game. The Aggies scored the next three points before Sejuste hit a jumper on the left side just inside the three-point line. The Aggies knocked down a three-pointer and then had a layup to tie the game with 1:11 left. Back-to-back steals gave the Dutchmen the ball with under a minute left. Tang missed a turnaround mid-range jumper with 16 seconds left, and then the Aggies missed a three-pointer at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.
 
LVC came out hot to begin the extra session as Bandy made a three-pointer on the left wing, Michael Main drove to the hoop for two, and then Tang knocked down a free throw to put the Dutchmen up 73-67. DVU came right back with the next seven points to take a one-point lead with 2:16 left. The game was still tied when LVC called a timeout with 1:39 on the clock. Sejuste hit a turnaround jumper in the paint to give the Dutchmen the lead. The Aggies turned the ball over on their offensive possession. Penn was fouled with a little under a minute to play, and he made both of his free throws. The Aggies scored with 33 seconds left to get within one. They were forced to foul with not much difference between the game clock and shot clock. Tang made both shots at the line to put the Dutchmen up by three with 16 seconds left. Sejuste grabbed a defensive rebound off a missed three-pointer to seal the victory.
 
Inside the Box

• Sejuste continued his impressive run with 23 points and eight rebounds. He has scored at least 20 points in each of the past four games.
• Melvin played a big role in the win with 14 points and four rebounds. He was 4-for-7 from the field with a pair of three-pointers.
• Tang had 13 points, six rebounds, and six assists.
• Bandy finished with eight points and two steals while Penn scored seven points and had three rebounds.
• Unangst poured in six points and grabbed three rebounds.
• The Dutchmen won their second overtime game of the season.
• LVC scored 46 points in the paint and had 18 second-chance points off 10 offensive rebounds. The Dutchmen also scored 25 points off 21 DVU turnovers.
• The team shot 45.5 percent from the floor and made 15 of the 18 free throw attempts.

Up Next
The Dutchmen round out the first half of conference play on Wednesday, Jan. 28, at Stevens Institute of Technology. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Canavan Arena in Hoboken, N.J.

Stay Connected
Be sure to follow @lvcathletics on Instagram, X, and Facebook for the most in-depth coverage of LVC Athletics.