News Release

ANNVILLE, Pa. — Sophomore guard Ryan Finch nailed a three-pointer from the right baseline with six seconds left, lifting McDaniel College to a 59-56 win over Lebanon Valley in the first round of LVC’s Rinso Marquette Tournament Friday evening at the LVC Gymnasium in the season opener for both teams.

With its win, McDaniel moves on to the tournament championship game, where it will meet Hood College, a 55-53 winner over Montclair State University in the other first-round game. The Green Terror became the first team to defeat Lebanon Valley in the first round in the 15 years the tournament has been held.

With the game tied 56-56, Jemar Daniel pulled down a rebound following a missed three-pointer from LVC guard Dan Hodge with 22 seconds remaining. Senior guard Joseph Hunter then found Finch in the right corner, who connected on the game-winning shot for his only points of the game.

After a timeout, senior guard Hunter Bretschneider missed on an off-balance three-pointer from the top of the arc.

Sophomore guard Ryan Brandenburg led all players with 28 points for the Green Terror, which overcame a 4-for-16 night at the foul line, while senior guard Jimmy Curran had 19 points for the Dutchmen.

Lebanon Valley enjoyed its largest lead of the night following a Curran jumper with 4:36 left, but that’s when McDaniel tightened up defensively, limiting LVC to two points on 1-of-6 shooting the rest of the way.

The Green Terror trailed by three after a Brandenburg trey with 3:56 on the clock before another Curran jumper made it 56-51 with 3:20 to go. However, those would be the Valley’s final points of the night.

Daniel cut the deficit to four (56-52) when he hit the second of two free throws with 2:59 on the clock before Brandenburg’s sixth and final three-pointer made it a one-point game with 2:46 to go. Daniel then made the second of two foul shots again with 47 seconds remaining to tie it before Finch’s heroics.

McDaniel got out to a fast start and led by as much as 12 (20-8) with 10:54 left in the first half. It was a nine-point game (25-16) with 6:29 on the clock before a 10-0 LVC run, capped by a Hodge trey, gave the Dutchmen their first lead of the night. But the Green Terror closed the period on a 10-3 run, capped by a Brandenburg three-pointer four seconds before the buzzer.

Hodge scored all nine of his points in the first half, finishing 3-for-5 from three-point range. Junior forward Peter Ruth tied a career-high with eight points while sophomore guard Kyle Enoch added six rebounds and five assists.

Hunter led all players with eight rebounds.

Lebanon Valley plays Montclair State at 1 p.m. on Saturday in the consolation game before Hood meets McDaniel at 3 p.m. in the championship tilt.

McDaniel vs Lebanon Valley
11-17-06 8:00 p.m. at Annville, PA - LVC Gymnasium
At Annville, PA - LVC Gymnasium
MCDANIEL 59, LEBANON VALLEY 56
MCDANIEL (1-0)
Ryan Brandenburg 11-17 0-0 28; Jemar Daniel 3-13 3-10 9; Joseph Hunter 2-5
1-2 6; Brett Foelber 3-11 0-2 6; Robert Koebke 1-2 0-0 3; Ryan Finch 1-4 0-0
3; Chad Arrington 1-3 0-0 2; Chris Prior 1-6 0-0 2; Josh McKay 0-2 0-2 0;
Miguel Jones 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-64 4-16 59.
LEBANON VALLEY (0-1)
Jimmy Curran 8-16 0-0 19; Dan Hodge 3-7 0-0 9; Peter Ruth 4-8 0-2 8; Kyle
Enoch 2-10 0-0 5; H. Bretschneider 2-9 0-0 4; James Shinn 2-4 0-0 4; Brian
Wolensky 1-2 1-2 3; Luke Foster 1-2 0-0 2; Dustin Kerns 1-1 0-0 2. Totals
24-59 1-6 56.
McDaniel......................   35   24  -   59
Lebanon Valley................   29   27  -   56
3-point goals-McDaniel 9-22 (Ryan Brandenburg 6-11; Joseph Hunter 1-4; Ryan
Finch 1-2; Robert Koebke 1-1; Miguel Jones 0-1; Brett Foelber 0-3), Lebanon
Valley 7-24 (Jimmy Curran 3-6; Dan Hodge 3-5; Kyle Enoch 1-7; H.
Bretschneider 0-6). Fouled out--McDaniel-None, Lebanon Valley-None.
Rebounds-McDaniel 44 (Joseph Hunter 8), Lebanon Valley 41 (Kyle Enoch 6).
Assists-McDaniel 11 (Chad Arrington 3), Lebanon Valley 12 (Kyle Enoch 5).
Total fouls-McDaniel 15, Lebanon Valley 10. A-760
Rinso Marquette Tournament First Round