Lebanon Valley (11-7, 3-4 CC), which snapped a four-game losing streak and won its fourth straight over Juniata, led 53-34 with 11:12 remaining but scored just five points the rest of the way. Juniata (9-9, 3-4 CC) whittled the deficit down to two (56-54) after a Kyle Opitz 3-pointer with seven seconds left, but sophomore guard Dustin Kerns sealed the win for the Flying Dutchmen with a pair of free throws with five ticks showing.
In addition to his 15 points, Curran handed out a career-high eight assists. Enoch shot 5-for-7 from 3-point range and also tied a career-high with eight rebounds. Sophomore guard Dan Hodge making his first career start, added 10 points and five boards.
Brian Cannon paced Juniata with 17 points and nine rebounds off the bench. Nick Hager shot 4-of-5 from beyond the arc and finished with 12 points while Aaron Chamberlain and Brent Ferko grabbed six rebounds apiece.
Both teams struggled at the foul line, where Juniata shot 21.4% (3-for-14) and LVC went 41.2% (7-for-17).
Hodge gave the Dutchmen their 53-34 lead when he made a steal and went coast-to-coast for a lay-up. But that’s when the Eagles dug in defensively, holding the Dutchmen scoreless over the next five minutes and pulling to within single digits (53-45) on a tip-in from Chris Jasiota with 6:53 left.
Junior forward Peter Ruth ended the Eagles run when he canned a jumper from the left elbow with 6:14 to go, but that would be the Dutchmen’s final points over the next six minutes. In the meantime, Juniata used an elongated 6-0 run, and a Ferko free throw made it 55-51 with 20 seconds left.
Curran pushed the Valley’s lead to five (56-51) when he hit the first of two free throws with 14 seconds remaining before Opitz’ late trey.
In the first half, Lebanon Valley used a 9-2 run midway through the stanza to open up its first double-digit lead (23-13) of the night after a foul shot from senior forward Brian Wolensky with 5:59 on the clock. Enoch drained his second 3 of the game with 43 seconds left to give LVC a 32-21 lead at the break.
The Dutchmen came out smoking at the start of the second period, outscoring the Eagles 10-2 to open the stanza. Enoch started the run with a 3, then capped it with another trey to give the Valley a 42-23 lead with 16:30 left.
Lebanon Valley’s lead reached as much as 20 (48-28) with 14:13 remaining on Enoch’s final trifecta of the night.
Juniata vs Lebanon Valley 1-24-07 8:00 p.m. at Annville, PA - LVC Gymnasium LEBANON VALLEY 58, JUNIATA 54 JUNIATA (9-9, 3-4 CC) Brian Cannon 8-14 0-3 17; Nick Hager 4-11 0-0 12; Chris Jasiota 3-5 0-0 6; Dave Thompson 2-3 0-0 5; Neil Holloway 2-4 1-4 5; Brent Ferko 1-4 1-2 3; Kyle Opitz 1-4 0-2 3; Aaron Chamberlain 1-12 0-0 2; Jeff Berkey 0-0 1-3 1; Eric Mueseler 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 22-59 3-14 54. LEBANON VALLEY (11-7, 3-4 CC) Kyle Enoch 5-10 0-0 15; Jimmy Curran 6-13 2-4 15; Dan Hodge 4-13 0-0 10; Dan Dunkelberger 3-3 0-0 6; Peter Ruth 2-6 0-0 4; Matt Covucci 1-2 0-0 3; Dustin Kerns 0-1 2-2 2; Luke Foster 0-1 1-2 1; Brian Wolensky 0-2 1-2 1; Eric Humphrey 0-2 1-6 1; James Shinn 0-1 0-1 0. Totals 21-54 7-17 58. Juniata....................... 21 33 - 54 Lebanon Valley................ 32 26 - 58 3-point goals--Juniata 7-20 (Nick Hager 4-5; Kyle Opitz 1-4; Dave Thompson 1-1; Brian Cannon 1-3; Aaron Chamberlain 0-5; Eric Mueseler 0-1; Brent Ferko 0-1), Lebanon Valley 9-19 (Kyle Enoch 5-7; Dan Hodge 2-6; Jimmy Curran 1-4; Matt Covucci 1-2). Fouled out--Juniata-Brent Ferko, Lebanon Valley-None. Rebounds--Juniata 41 (Brian Cannon 9), Lebanon Valley 43 (Kyle Enoch 8). Assists--Juniata 10 (Nick Hager 3; Aaron Chamberlain 3), Lebanon Valley 13 (Jimmy Curran 8). Total fouls--Juniata 18, Lebanon Valley 14. Technical fouls--Juniata-None, Lebanon Valley-None. A-756