ANNVILLE, Pa. – Demarcus Bandy scored a season-high 28 points to lead the Lebanon Valley men's basketball team to a big 88-72 victory over Stevens Institute of Technology on Wednesday evening in the final home game of the year at Sorrentino Gymnasium.
 
The Dutchmen (7-17, 5-8 MAC Freedom) earned the program's first win over the Ducks (15-9, 9-4 MAC Freedom in six games. Stevens scored the first four points of the game on its first two offensive possessions. The LVC offense struggled over the first few minutes, but the defense locked in and kept the Ducks from expanding their lead. Bandy banked in a floating jump shot in the middle of the paint to cut the deficit in half. Stevens answered with a three-pointer and a layup to take its largest lead of the game at 9-2. LVC quickly tied the score over the next minute as Karson Pavlik and Luke Chilton scored buckets in the paint, and then Tyler Kerlin knocked down a corner three-pointer.
 
The teams traded baskets with Chilton scoring on a turnaround baseline jumper. LVC took its first lead with 10:43 to play in the half as Kyle Tang found Chilton underneath the hoop for a layup as he was being fouled. Chilton made the shot at the line to put the Dutchmen up 14-11. The teams traded layups with Tang driving to the rim. Reed Melvin pushed the advantage to four as the first-year hit a three-pointer on the right wing off a pass from Tang. The Ducks were able to cut the deficit to one over the next two minutes before Chilton hit another turnaround mid-range jumper. The Ducks responded with a layup and two free throws to retake a 22-21 lead.
 
Bandy blocked a shot and then got out in transition to put LVC back ahead. Jason Penn knocked down a three-pointer on the right side to increase the advantage to 26-22 with four minutes on the clock. The Ducks managed to score four of the next five points to make it a one-point game. Penn hit a pull-up jumper just inside the elbow before Stevens hit a three-pointer to tie things up at 29. A three-point play gave the Ducks back the lead. Chilton knocked down a foul line jumper, and then Bandy got a steal and a bucket. Stevens countered with a bucket down low. Chilton added another foul line jumper to make it 35-34 in favor of the Dutchmen. Kerlin stole the ball and then found Melvin cutting to the rim for two. Bandy made a pair of free throws in the final minute before a layup by the Ducks gave LVC a 39-36 halftime lead.
 
Penn began the second half with a pull-up jumper on the left side. The teams traded buckets in the paint as Melvin scored on a pair of layups. Bandy gave the Dutchmen an eight-point advantage with a traditional three-point play in transition. Stevens made one of two free throw attempts at the other end before Bandy tipped in an offensive rebound. Melvin hit a hook shot in the middle of the paint to answer a SIT bucket. The Ducks cut the deficit to six at 52-46 before Penn banked a shot off the glass with a pull-up on the left side.
 
The Dutchmen used a pair of three-pointers to build the lead up to 10 points as Bandy and Penn knocked down shots near the left corner. Bandy blocked a shot on the defensive end; Tang got the rebound and pushed the ball up court before finding Bandy for a layup to make it 62-50 with 11 minutes to play. Neither team scored again until Tang drove to the rim for a layup a little over a minute later. Bandy tipped in another offensive rebound, and then back-to-back layups from Melvin and Tang forced the Ducks to call a timeout with 7:49 left and the score at 70-50.
 
Stevens came out of the timeout and scored the next six points. Bandy made a pair of free throws and then answered a SIT three-pointer with a three-point play. The Ducks got the deficit down to 12 with 4:45 remaining. Melvin scored on a driving layup, and then Tang knocked down a pair of shots at the line. The Ducks made two free throws out of the final media timeout before Phil Unangst hit a three-pointer to push the advantage to 82-65 with 3:28 left. Stevens was able to cut the lead to 13 points following a three-pointer. Penn made two shots at the line, and Bandy made one before Bandy recorded his third tip-in of the game as he flew above the defenders for an offensive rebound. Stevens made a layup in the final minute to set the final score.
 
Inside the Box

• Bandy scored a season-high 28 points on 10-for-14 shooting from the field and 7-for-9 at the line. The guard also grabbed eight rebounds and blocked two shots.
• Melvin had 15 points and seven rebounds. He made seven of his 10 shots.
• Penn scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds. The sophomore made a pair of three-pointers and knocked down both of his shots at the line.
• Chilton scored a season-high 14 points in 16 minutes of action. The junior also had five rebounds.
• Tang had eight points, five assists, and two rebounds in his final game inside Sorrentino Gymnasium.
• Unangst pulled down a team-high nine rebounds and scored four points.
• The Dutchmen outscored the Ducks 49-36 in the second half. LVC scored 44 points in the paint and 17 points off 11 Stevens turnovers.
• LVC shot 53.1 percent from the field and had a 42-33 rebounding advantage.

Up Next
The Dutchmen will wrap up the season on Saturday with a road trip to Doylestown to face Delaware Valley University. Tipoff against the Aggies is scheduled for 3 p.m. inside James Work Gymnasium.

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