Lebanon Valley (9-2), which won its seventh game in a row, jumped out to a 32-19 lead before holding off a late rally from the Eagles, who clawed to within three in the final minute. But the Dutchmen made 5 of their final 8 free throws to hold on for the victory.
LVC also defeated Penn State Behrend 56-48 on Thursday and finished 2-0 in the Sunshine State.
All of the Land of Magic Classic games were moved from tournament host Embry-Riddle to nearby Seabreeze High School due to a Christmas day tornado that caused significant damage to Embry-Riddle’s athletic complex.
With the win, the Dutchmen stayed undefeated (4-0) in road games this season. Lebanon Valley is on its longest winning streak since the Dutchmen won 11 in a row early in the 2004-05 season.
Senior guard Jimmy Curran scored a game-high 21 points for the Valley while sophomore guard Kyle Enoch connected on 5 of 7 shots and finished with 14 points to go with six rebounds. Sophomore forward Peter Ruth recorded an outstanding all-around game, posting career-highs in scoring (11 points) and blocks (3) while pulling down a team-high eight rebounds.
Freshman forward Dan Dunkelberger added seven rebounds while sophomore guard Dustin Kerns notched four steals in 19 minutes off the bench.
Denny Joseph paced Embry-Riddle (11-3) with 20 points in 24 minutes off the bench.
Lebanon Valley enjoyed a comfortable 15-point lead (41-26) following a Curran three-pointer with 14:49 left in the game. The Dutchmen still led by double digits (45-34) with 9:38 remaining before the Eagles used a 7-1 run to get back into it. However, the Valley pushed its advantage back to nine (57-48) with 1:53 to go after an Enoch trey.
The Eagles refused to go quietly, though, and another 7-1 spurt made it a three-point game (58-55) with 41 seconds left following a Ryan Exter three-pointer. However, Enoch canned a pair of free throws 13 seconds later, and after an Embry-Riddle turnover, senior guard Hunter Bretschneider made 1 of 2 free throws to nudge LVC’s lead back to six (61-55).
Curran converted the first of two foul shots with 15 seconds left before Joseph was fouled on a three-point attempt with six ticks showing. Joseph went 2-for-3 at the line, but Curran put the game out of reach by again making the first of two foul shots with five seconds left.
The Dutchmen held the Eagles to 35.2% shooting for the night, including a 25.9% mark in the first half. Lebanon Valley shot 53.3% for the game and made 10 of 15 shots (66.7%) in the second half. The Dutchmen were not as sharp at the line, however, making just 11 of 21 free throws (52.4%), including a 47.4% mark (9 for 19) in the final 20 minutes.
Lebanon Valley nearly led from start to finish. After falling behind 2-0, the Dutchmen took the lead for good following a pair of Curran free throws and a Ruth lay-up. It was still a close game midway through the opening half before a 10-0 LVC run, fueled by all six of sophomore guard Dan Hodge’s points, gave the Dutchmen a 22-10 lead with 7:26 on the clock.
An Enoch three-pointer gave the Valley its biggest lead of the game (28-12) with 3:35 remaining in the opening stanza.
Lebanon Valley (Pa.) vs Embry-Riddle (Fla.) 12-29-06 7:30 p.m. at Seabreeze H.S. (Daytona Beach, Fla.) LEBANON VALLEY (PA.) 63, EMBRY-RIDDLE (FLA.) 59 LEBANON VALLEY (PA.) (9-2) Jimmy Curran 6-15 7-13 21; Kyle Enoch 5-7 2-2 14; Peter Ruth 5-6 1-2 11; Dan Hodge 3-6 0-0 6; James Shinn 2-5 0-0 4; Dustin Kerns 2-3 0-0 4; Dan Dunkelberger 1-1 0-0 2; H. Bretschneider 0-2 1-4 1; Luke Foster 0-0 0-0 0; Brian Wolensky 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-45 11-21 63. EMBRY-RIDDLE (FLA.) (11-3) Denny Joseph 5-6 9-12 20; Nick Miller 5-13 2-2 12; Tyler DeBord 4-9 2-4 10; Ryan Exter 3-12 1-1 9; Drew Whitaker 0-3 3-4 3; Denver Cobb 1-7 1-2 3; Ryan Ridder 1-3 0-0 2; William Benjamin 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-54 18-25 59. Lebanon Valley (Pa.).......... 32 31 - 63 Embry-Riddle (Fla.)........... 19 40 - 59 3-point goals--Lebanon Valley (Pa.) 4-10 (Jimmy Curran 2-4; Kyle Enoch 2-3; Dan Hodge 0-2; H. Bretschneider 0-1), Embry-Riddle (Fla.) 3-16 (Ryan Exter 2-9; Denny Joseph 1-1; Drew Whitaker 0-2; Denver Cobb 0-4). Fouled out--Lebanon Valley (Pa.)-None, Embry-Riddle (Fla.)-Denver Cobb. Rebounds--Lebanon Valley (Pa.) 33 (Peter Ruth 8), Embry-Riddle (Fla.) 32 (Tyler DeBord 11). Assists--Lebanon Valley (Pa.) 14 (Dustin Kerns 4), Embry-Riddle (Fla.) 8 (Denver Cobb 3). Total fouls--Lebanon Valley (Pa.) 21, Embry-Riddle (Fla.) 19. Technical fouls--Lebanon Valley (Pa.)-None, Embry-Riddle (Fla.)-None. A-374