News Release

ANNVILLE, Pa. — Lebanon Valley raced to a 38-27 halftime lead, then outscored Widener 41-26 in the second half as the Flying Dutchmen recorded a convincing 79-53 win over the Pioneers in Commonwealth Conference men’s basketball action Tuesday evening at the LVC Gymnasium.

Senior guard J.D. Byers and senior forward Steve Buzinski led the Dutchmen (16-5, 8-4 CC), who won their fourth game in a row and remained undefeated at home (9-0) this season. Byers shot 6-for-11 and scored a game-high 19 points to go with five assists while Buzinski dropped in 16 points on 6-of-10 marksmanship.

Lebanon Valley shot a season-high 60.0% from the floor. Widener (13-10, 7-6 CC), which shot 50.9% in its 75-56 win over LVC earlier in the season, shot just 32.1%, including a 26.7% mark in the second half.

Widener was paced by senior forward Matt Sheaffer, who scored 14 points. Senior guard Casey Stitzel added 12 points.

With the win, the Dutchmen moved into a tie with Messiah for second place in the Commonwealth Conference standings. Messiah dropped a 78-63 decision to Elizabethtown on Tuesday.

Lebanon Valley’s victory also snapped a four-game losing streak against Widener. The Dutchmen’s last win over the Pioneers was a 76-64 victory on Feb. 8, 2003.

The Duthmen's 26-point win marked their largest margin of victory this year and was the team's biggest blowout since its 114-79 win over Delaware Valley on Jan. 8 of last season.

The win was also victory No. 190 at LVC for Dutchman head coach Brad McAlester.

The Pioneers led four times in the early going, but a Buzinski lay-up with 11:55 left in the opening stanza gave LVC the lead (13-11) for good. An 8-0 LVC run, capped by a Byers lay-up with 7:40 on the clock, midway through the period gave the Dutchmen their largest advantage (27-15) of the half. Widener came right back with a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to four (29-25) with 5:17 left in the half, but after a 30-second timeout, LVC closed the period on a 9-2 run to open up its 11-point halftime lead.

A lay-up from sophomore guard Jimmy Curran with 16:51 left punctuated an 8-2 Dutchman run to start the second half, giving the Valley a 16-point (46-30) lead. LVC enjoyed a 17-point advantage (59-42) with 9:09 on the clock before the Dutchmen put the game away with an 8-0 surge. The run, which was capped by a Byers three-pointer, gave Lebanon Valley an insurmountable 25-point lead with 6:28 left.

Senior center Brad Stigelman nearly reached his third double-double of the season for Lebanon Valley, posting 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Curran finished with eight points and four assists.

All 16 Dutchmen who dressed appeared in the game, and 11 found their way into the scoring column.

Widener University vs Lebanon Valley
2/15/05 8:00 pm at Annville, Pa. - LVC Gymnasium
At Annville, Pa. - LVC Gymnasium
LEBANON VALLEY 79, WIDENER UNIVERSITY 53
WIDENER UNIVERSITY (13-10, 7-6 CC)
Matt Sheaffer 6-12 2-3 14; Casey Stitzel 4-11 2-2 12; Ron Michael 2-8 4-4 8;
Malcolm Thomas 2-5 2-2 6; David Douglas 1-2 4-4 6; Essien Ford 1-6 0-0 3;
Marcus Thompson 1-5 0-0 2; Brandon Blakey 1-2 0-0 2; Brooke Tidswell 0-1 0-1
0; Kofi Dwebeng 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 18-56 14-16 53.
LEBANON VALLEY (16-5, 8-4 CC)
J.D. Byers 6-11 4-4 19; Steve Buzinski 6-10 4-5 16; Brad Stigelman 4-6 4-4
12; Jimmy Curran 3-5 0-0 8; Brian Wolensky 3-3 0-0 6; Dan Hogan 3-5 0-1 6;
Billy Orr 2-4 0-0 4; Matt Polinsky 1-1 0-0 3; Luke Foster 1-2 0-0 2; Peter
Ruth 1-2 0-0 2; Travis Witmeyer 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-50 13-16 79.
Widener University............   27   26  -   53
Lebanon Valley................   38   41  -   79
3-point goals-Widener University 3-18 (Casey Stitzel 2-7; Essien Ford 1-3;
Malcolm Thomas 0-2; Marcus Thompson 0-1; Brandon Blakey 0-1; Kofi Dwebeng
0-3; Matt Sheaffer 0-1), Lebanon Valley 6-11 (J.D. Byers 3-6; Jimmy Curran
2-2; Matt Polinsky 1-1; Dan Hogan 0-1; Travis Witmeyer 0-1). Fouled
out--Widener University-Ron Michael, Lebanon Valley-None. Rebounds-Widener
University 28 (Ron Michael 6), Lebanon Valley 33 (Brad Stigelman 9).
Assists-Widener University 5 (Brandon Blakey 3), Lebanon Valley 21 (J.D.
Byers 5). Total fouls-Widener University 15, Lebanon Valley 16. A-1061