Lebanon Valley (9-9, 3-4 CC) never trailed in regulation and saw its lead reach as much as 17 early in the second half. However, Juniata (9-9, 4-3 CC) rallied with a 7-0 run over the final 3:28 of regulation to force overtime.
The Eagles turned the tables on LVC in the first bonus session, forging a seven-point advantage (80-73) with 1:17 left before a furious Dutchman comeback. Curran drained the last of his career-high five three pointers with 1:00 to go before LVC forced a turnover eight seconds later. Junior guard Hunter Bretschneider knocked down a three-pointer of his own with 40 seconds remaining to make it a one-point game.
After Aaron Chamberlain made one of two free throws with 35 ticks showing for the Eagles, junior forward Dave Kasyan converted a put-back with 17 seconds remaining to make it 81-81 and force a second overtime. Tommy McConnell missed a potential game-winning shot for Juniata with two seconds left.
Lebanon Valley’s defense came through in the second OT, holding Juniata to a mere three points. The Eagles missed their first eight shots of the five-minute period and failed to score before Chamberlain hit a three-pointer with five seconds left and the game already out of reach.
Curran, who also handed out six assists, shot 10-for-16 and was a sizzling 5-for-6 from beyond the arc. Senior forward Dan Hogan added a career-high 20 points to go with 13 rebounds while Kasyan posted 13 points, a career-high 14 rebounds, and three blocked shots. Bretschneider and freshman guard Dan Hodge added 12 points apiece for the Dutchmen while freshman guard Kyle Enoch distributed six assists.
Brian Cannon paced Juniata with 21 points while Chamberlain scored 15 off the bench. McConnell and Chris Jasiota scored 14 points apiece, and Jasiota pulled down a game-high 17 rebounds.
Lebanon Valley shot 49.3% for the game while Juniata hit on just 33.7% of its shots. The Dutchmen made 50.0% (10-of-20) of their three-point attempts while the Eagles were 25.9% (7-for-27) from beyond the arc.
The Dutchmen survived a 47.8% (11-for-23) night at the foul line. Juniata hit 61.3% (19-for-31) of its free throws.
The game marked Lebanon Valley’s first double-overtime contest since its 85-82 win over Messiah College on Feb. 22, 2003, the final men’s basketball game in Lynch Gymnasium.
The Dutchmen scored seven straight points midway through the first half, with Hodge scoring five during the stretch, to post its first double-digit lead (20-10) of the game with 11:53 left. LVC’s lead never dipped below five over the remainder of the stanza, and Bretschneider’s second trey of the evening made it a 15-point game (38-23) with 4:13 remaining. The visitors took a 42-32 lead into the locker room.
An 11-2 Lebanon Valley run early in the second period, capped by back-to-back jumpers from Curran, pushed the Dutchmen’s advantage to 17 (55-38) with 16:25 to go. It was still a 17-point game with 15:14 on the clock after a Curran three-pointer before Juniata dug in defensively to get back into it. The Eagles held LVC scoreless over the next 6:06 while scoring 11 straight points to make it 58-52 with 9:08 left.
Sophomore forward Peter Ruth dropped in a lay-up with 3:28 remaining in regulation to give LVC a 68-61 lead before McConnell and Juniata’s defense created its late 7-0 surge. McConnell hit a pair of free throws with 2:12 left, then canned a three-pointer with 1:46 on the clock to make it 68-66. Two more McConnell foul shots with 16 seconds to go tied the game for the first time since the opening tap, and Hodge missed a three-pointer with two seconds left.
The Dutchmen committed a pair of turnovers and missed both of their field goal attempts between Ruth’s bucket and the end of regulation.
Juniata outscored LVC 12-5 to start the first overtime before the Dutchmen’s rally.
While the Eagles offense cooled off in the second overtime, Lebanon Valley struggled as well, missing its first three field goals and going 1-for-3 at the foul line before a Curran jumper with 2:09 left put the Dutchmen up 84-81. Two Enoch free throws and single foul shots from Bretschneider and Curran gave LVC an insurmountable 88-81 lead with 11 seconds remaining.
Lebanon Valley shot just 1-for-5 in the second OT and went 6-for-13 at the charity stripe. However, Juniata was only 1-for-9 from the floor in the final five minutes and failed to get to the foul line.
Lebanon Valley College vs Juniata College 1-25-06 8:00 p.m. at Huntingdon, PA - Memorial Gym LEBANON VALLEY COLLEGE 89, JUNIATA COLLEGE 84 LEBANON VALLEY COLLEGE (9-9, 3-4 CC) Jimmy Curran 10-16 1-4 26; Dan Hogan 9-16 2-4 20; Dave Kasyan 6-12 1-3 13; H. Bretschneider 4-10 1-3 12; Dan Hodge 4-8 2-3 12; Kyle Enoch 0-4 4-6 4; Peter Ruth 1-1 0-0 2; Brian Wolensky 0-1 0-0 0; Dustin Kerns 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 34-69 11-23 89. JUNIATA COLLEGE (9-9, 4-3 CC) Brian Cannon 8-24 5-6 21; Aaron Chamberlain 4-8 5-7 15; Chris Jasiota 6-17 2-6 14; Tommy McConnell 3-14 6-8 14; Nick Hager 3-9 0-0 8; Travis Boyd 3-7 0-0 7; Jeff Byer 1-2 1-4 3; Kyle Opitz 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 29-86 19-31 84. Lebanon Valley College........ 42 26 13 8 - 89 Juniata College............... 32 36 13 3 - 84 3-point goals-Lebanon Valley College 10-20 (Jimmy Curran 5-6; H. Bretschneider 3-8; Dan Hodge 2-5; Dave Kasyan 0-1), Juniata College 7-27 (Aaron Chamberlain 2-6; Nick Hager 2-5; Tommy McConnell 2-7; Travis Boyd 1-3; Kyle Opitz 0-4; Brian Cannon 0-2). Fouled out--Lebanon Valley College-None, Juniata College-Tommy McConnell; Nick Hager. Rebounds-Lebanon Valley College 53 (Dave Kasyan 14), Juniata College 54 (Chris Jasiota 17). Assists-Lebanon Valley College 17 (Jimmy Curran 6; Kyle Enoch 6), Juniata College 10 (Tommy McConnell 4). Total fouls-Lebanon Valley College 21, Juniata College 20.