Lebanon Valley (4-1, 1-0 CC) took advantage of 25 Albright fouls and made 84.2% (32-of-38) of its free throws. LVC also committed 25 fouls, but the Lions (3-3, 0-1 CC) shot only 63.0% (17-for-27) at the charity stripe.
Junior forward Trevor Deeter, one of four Lions to reach double figures in scoring, led Albright with 20 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
Sophomore guards Jimmy Curran and Hunter Bretschneider added 13 points apiece for the Flying Dutchmen. Bretschneider, who scored seven straight points during a big 7-0 LVC run midway through the second half, was also 8-for-10 at the line. His 13 points were six more than his previous career high.
Leading by nine (65-56) with 2:36 remaining, Lebanon Valley salted the game away by making 11 of its final 12 free throws. Byers, who made 12 of 15 foul shots for the game, went 6-for-6 during the stretch run for the Dutchmen. He also handed out a game- and season-high six assists, and was 3-for-6 from behind the arc. Byers is now one three-pointer shy of the Lebanon Valley career record of 236 held by Mike Rhoades ’95.
Senior forward Steve Buzinski recorded eight points and a team-high seven rebounds for the Dutchmen before fouling out with 5:23 remaining in the game.
The Dutchmen struggled offensively early in the game, missing their first seven shots before a layup by Buzinski nearly seven minutes into the contest made it 7-2. But Albright was in control for most of the first half, and the Lions led by nine (19-10) with 7:41 to go in the opening stanza. A 9-0 LVC run late in the period gave the Dutchmen their first lead (24-23) of the game, but Albright closed the half with a 9-0 surge of its own and took a 32-24 lead into halftime.
Albright shot 47.8% from the floor over the opening 20 minutes while holding LVC to 30.8% shooting.
The second half was a different story, with the Dutchmen finding their shooting touch. Lebanon Valley would go on to shoot a sizzling 61.9% (13-for-21) from the field in the period while holding the Lions to 26.3% shooting.
After missing its first shot of the second half, Lebanon Valley connected on its next six attempts during its decisive 16-0 run as the Dutchmen took a 40-32 lead with 15:47 to go. Byers scored seven of LVC’s points during the stretch.
Albright refused to go away, however, and a 5-0 Lion spurt made it a four-point game (47-43) with 10:07 left. But that’s when Bretschneider came alive, hitting a pair of free throws, driving to the glass for a fastbreak layup, and nailing three more free throws to give the Dutchmen their first double-digit lead (54-43) of the night with 7:48 remaining.
The Lions answered with a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to six, but that’s as close as they would get the rest of the night.
Lebanon Valley shot 44.7% for the game while Albright ended up with a 34.4% mark. The Lions out-rebounded LVC 40-31.
Albright vs Lebanon Valley 12/1/04 7:30 pm at Annville, Pa. - LVC Gymnasium At Annville, Pa. - LVC Gymnasium LEBANON VALLEY 79, ALBRIGHT 65 ALBRIGHT (3-3, 0-1 CC) Trevor Deeter 5-9 9-17 20; Taylor Steltz 4-8 2-2 12; Elu Lawrence 4-12 1-2 11; Ben Gallagher 3-14 4-4 10; Shane Harvey 3-6 0-0 6; Andy Winebrenner 1-1 0-0 3; Matt Kieselowsky 1-7 0-0 2; Lee Walter 0-1 1-2 1; Michael Boles 0-1 0-0 0; Garret Etzel 0-1 0-0 0; Jarel Gallman 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-61 17-27 65. LEBANON VALLEY (4-1, 1-0 CC) J.D. Byers 6-12 12-15 27; Hunter Bretschneider 2-5 8-10 13; Jimmy Curran 4-7 4-4 13; Dan Hogan 3-5 2-2 8; Steve Buzinski 3-9 2-3 8; Brad Stigelman 2-6 2-2 6; Billy Orr 1-2 2-2 4; Matt Polinsky 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-47 32-38 79. Albright...................... 32 33 - 65 Lebanon Valley................ 24 55 - 79 3-point goals-Albright 6-23 (Taylor Steltz 2-3; Elu Lawrence 2-7; Andy Winebrenner 1-1; Trevor Deeter 1-2; Matt Kieselowsky 0-3; Ben Gallagher 0-7), Lebanon Valley 5-12 (J.D. Byers 3-6; Jimmy Curran 1-2; Hunter Bretschneider 1-3; Matt Polinsky 0-1). Fouled out--Albright-Taylor Steltz, Lebanon Valley-Steve Buzinski. Rebounds-Albright 40 (Trevor Deeter 14), Lebanon Valley 31 (Steve Buzinski 7). Assists-Albright 11 (Matt Kieselowsky 4), Lebanon Valley 8 (J.D. Byers 6). Total fouls-Albright 25, Lebanon Valley 25. A-723