Juniata (9-8, 3-4 CC) limited the Dutchmen to a season-low 27.3% shooting mark from the field and forced LVC into a season-high 22 turnovers. The Eagles shot 42.9% and also committed 22 turnovers.
Lebanon Valley (11-7, 5-2 CC) is now locked in a three-way with Susquehanna and Widener for first place in the Commonwealth Conference standings.
Freshman center Chris Jasiota and senior guard Jeff Lau led Juniata with a team-high 11 points apiece. Jasiota pulled down a game-high eight rebounds while Lau added a game-high four blocks.
Nine other Eagles found their way into the scoring column to pace a balanced Juniata scoring attack.
Sophomore forward Dave Kasyan scored a game-high 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting for LVC. Junior forward Steve Buzinski pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.
Juniata held Dutchman guard J.D. Byers, the second-leading scorer in the Commonwealth entering the game, to six points.
Lebanon Valley led 2-0 when Kasyan threw down a dunk 22 seconds into the game, but that would turn out to be the Dutchmen’s only lead of the night. Kasyan scored the Valley’s first eight points and his three-pointer with 14:40 left in the opening half had the Dutchmen down only two (10-8).
Juniata led just 19-14 with 9:18 to go in the period before embarking on a decisive 14-2 run that produced a 17-point (33-16) Eagle lead with 2:14 left in the half. The Eagles held LVC to without a field goal over the stretch and led 33-19 at the half.
LVC trailed by 13 (41-28) with 13:54 left, but that’s as close as the Valley would get the rest of the way. Juniata was able to extend its advantage to as much as 22 (54-32) with 8:34 remaining.
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Newspaper Box Score Juniata vs Lebanon Valley 1/28/04 8:00 p.m. at Annville, Pa. - LVC Gymnasium At Annville, Pa. - LVC Gymnasium JUNIATA 63, LEBANON VALLEY 45 JUNIATA (9-8, 3-4 CC) Chris Jasiota 4-10 3-3 11; Jeff Lau 4-9 1-3 11; Aaron Chamberlain 3-3 0-0 9; Travis Boyd 3-7 0-0 8; Travis Martin 3-6 0-0 7; Craig Biller 2-6 1-2 5; Nick Hager 2-4 0-1 4; Greg Ebert 1-3 0-0 3; Jeff Byer 1-2 0-2 2; Tommy McConnell 1-3 0-0 2; Joseph LaPrad 0-1 1-2 1; Travis Sissler 0-1 0-0 0; John Weber 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-56 6-13 63. LEBANON VALLEY (11-7, 5-2 CC) Dave Kasyan 6-12 1-2 15; J.D. Byers 2-17 1-1 6; Fred Pope 2-3 2-2 6; Steve Buzinski 2-6 2-3 6; Jimmy Curran 1-4 3-4 5; Evan Harlor 1-8 1-2 3; Jeff Kline 1-2 0-0 2; Dan Hogan 0-2 0-0 0; Matt Polinsky 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 15-55 12-16 45. Juniata....................... 33 30 - 63 Lebanon Valley................ 19 26 - 45 3-point goals-Juniata 9-26 (Aaron Chamberlain 3-3; Travis Boyd 2-4; Jeff Lau 2-6; Greg Ebert 1-2; Travis Martin 1-4; Travis Sissler 0-1; Tommy McConnell 0-1; Jeff Byer 0-1; Nick Hager 0-2; Craig Biller 0-2), Lebanon Valley 3-23 (Dave Kasyan 2-4; J.D. Byers 1-11; Jimmy Curran 0-1; Evan Harlor 0-5; Dan Hogan 0-1; Matt Polinsky 0-1). Fouled out--Juniata-Tommy McConnell, Lebanon Valley-None. Rebounds-Juniata 42 (Chris Jasiota 8), Lebanon Valley 35 (Steve Buzinski 7). Assists-Juniata 17 (Craig Biller 4), Lebanon Valley 8 (Steve Buzinski 2; Jeff Kline 2; Jimmy Curran 2). Total fouls-Juniata 20, Lebanon Valley 14. A-502