Blue Jays down Alvernia in season opener

From the E-town College Website:

11/15/2008
Men's basketball downs Alvernia in season opener

ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE MEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, November 15, 2008

Elizabethtown 68, Alvernia 63

Click here for the box score

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa --- Joe Flanagan (Lancaster, PA/Lancaster Mennonite) came off the bench to score a career-high 17 points as Elizabethtown College held on for a 68-63 victory over Alvernia University in non-conference men's basketball action at Thompson Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.

Flanagan, whose previous high was 10 points against Penn State Berks in last year's opener, went 7-for-10 from the field for the Blue Jays (1-0 overall), who led by as many as 14 points in the second half before the Crusaders (0-1 overall) rallied to within four in the final minute.

Mike Church (Peach Bottom, PA/Solanco) added 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds before fouling out with 3:40 remaining, and Josh Houseal (Landisville, PA/Hempfield) also reached double figures for the Blue Jays with 10 points and six boards.

Tyrone Bradley led Alvernia with a game-high 19 points along with nine rebounds, and Jeff Amponseh chipped in with 11 points, five rebounds and four steals off the bench for the Crusaders.

Elizabethtown led by as many as 13 points in the first half, and took a 31-21 lead to halftime as Flanagan connected for 11 points in 14 minutes off the bench for the Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays took their largest lead of the game at 37-23 on a basket by Houseal with 16:38 remaining, but the Crusaders fought back to within 46-43 on a layup by Marcel Roane with 8:16 left.

Etown answered with baskets on each of their next five possessions, capped by a driving layup by Phil Schaffer (Marmora, NJ/Ocean City) that gave the Jays a 56-46 lead with 6:11 left.

Trailing 65-55 with 2:43 to play, the Crusaders reeled off six straight points to trim the Blue Jay lead to 65-61 with 1:33 left on a basket by Bradley off an Elizabethtown turnover. Alvernia would have five shots to make it a one-possession game, but could not connect and Chris Fairbanks (Lititz, PA/Warwick) drilled three free throws in the final 24 seconds to put the game away.

Fairbanks, who missed all of last season with a knee injury, started for the Blue Jays and scored eight points - all from the foul line - in 21 minutes of action. Schaffer and Kyle McConnell (Lebanon, PA/Cedar Crest) each finished with six assists at the point for Elizabethtown, while Brian Allport (Quarryville, PA/Solanco) tallied five points and two rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench.

Elizabethtown shot 44.6 percent (25-for-56) from the field, but held Alvernia to 42.1 percent (24-for-57) on the afternoon. The Crusaders were also plagued by 24 turnovers and went just 13-for-21 (61.9 percent) from the foul line.

ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE 68, ALVERNIA UNIVERSITY 63
ALVERNIA UNIVERSITY (0-1)
Tyrone Bradley 9-13 1-1 19; Jeff Amponsah 4-9 3-3 11; Tim Walters 3-10 2-28; Charlie Hughes 3-7 0-0 8; Eric Barefield 3-5 0-2 6; Marcel Roane 1-7 3-55; David Washington 0-2 4-8 4; Nick Rivera 1-1 0-0 2; Derek Dubbs 0-3 0-0 0.
Totals 24-57 13-21 63.

ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE (1-0)
Joe Flanagan 7-10 2-2 17; Mike Church 5-14 1-2 11; Josh Houseal 4-9 2-3 10;Keith Fogel 4-7 0-0 8; Chris Fairbanks 0-5 8-9 8; Brady Haughney 2-2 0-2 6;Brian Allport 2-5 0-0 5; Phil Schaffer 1-2 1-2 3; Bryan Harrity 0-1 0-0 0;Kyle McConnell 0-0 0-0 0; Andrew Corrigan 0-0 0-0 0; Chris Jones 0-1 0-0 0.
Totals 25-56 14-20 68.

Alvernia University........... 21 42 - 63
Elizabethtown College......... 31 37 - 68
3-point goals--Alvernia University 2-11 (Charlie Hughes 2-4; Tim Walters0-3; David Washington 0-2; Derek Dubbs 0-2), Elizabethtown College 4-13(Brady Haughney 2-2; Brian Allport 1-1; Joe Flanagan 1-3; Keith Fogel 0-3;Chris Jones 0-1; Josh Houseal 0-2; Mike Church 0-1). Fouled out--AlverniaUniversity-None, Elizabethtown College-Mike Church. Rebounds--AlverniaUniversity 38 (Tyrone Bradley 9), Elizabethtown College 33 (Mike Church 10).Assists--Alvernia University 15 (Eric Barefield 5), Elizabethtown College 19(Phil Schaffer 6; Kyle McConnell 6). Total fouls--Alvernia University 19,Elizabethtown College 20. Technical fouls--Alvernia University-None,Elizabethtown College-None. A-400

From the Alvernia Website:

Comeback Falls Short At Etown

Bradley Scores 19 On 9-of-13 Shooting

11/15/2008 8:16:40 PM

BOX SCORE

Elizabethtown, Pa. (Nov. 15, 2008) - Senior forward Tyrone Bradley (Chester, Pa./Chester) scored four of his game-high 19 points in a 6-0 run as Alvernia University trimmed a 10-point deficit to four with 1:33 to play, but the Crusaders missed five straight shots over the next 60 seconds and Elizabethtown College held on for a 68-63 win Saturday afternoon in non-conference men's basketball action at Etown.

Bradley ran into foul trouble and only played 25 minutes, but still finished just one rebound shy of a double-double with nine caroms. Senior Jeff Amponsah (Far Rockaway, N.Y./Carson Long Military Academy) threw in 11 points and four rebounds, but was one of three playaers with five or more turnovers as the Crusaders finished with 24 on the day. Etown got a team-high 17 points from reserve Joe Flanagan.

Etown responded to an 11-11 tie, the third of the day, with an 11-0 run and took a commanding 11-point lead with just better than four minutes left in the half. That lead grew to 13 points on three separate occasions, but Alvernia scored the final three points of the half to enter the break down 31-21.

The host Blue Jays pushed the lead to 14 points early in the second half, but Alvernia pieced together a 10-0 run midway through the frame to cut a 13-point deficit down to three points, 46-43 with 8:16 to play. Junior guard Charlie Hughes (Kenhorst, Pa./Governor Mifflin) paced the Crusaders' efforts over the four-minute run with five points including one of his two 3-point field goals.

Etown answered with a 7-1 run to build the lead back to 10 and held the same spread with 2:43 to play before Alvernia's final push.

The Crusaders return to Reading to play at Albright in a women's and men's doubleheader on Tuesday.

Elizabethtown 68, Alvernia 63