Blue Jays rally for 73-62 win over Lancaster Bible

From the E-town College Website:

11/18/2008

Men's basketball rallies for 73-62 win over Lancaster Bible
ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE MEN'S BASKETBALL
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Elizabethtown 73, Lancaster Bible 62

Click here for the box score

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa --- Elizabethtown College rallied from a 13-point first-half deficit to defeat Lancaster Bible College 73-62 in non-conference men's basketball action at Thompson Gymnasium on Tuesday night.

Mike Church (Peach Bottom, PA/Solanco) finished with team highs of 17 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots as the Blue Jays (2-0 overall) used runs of 15-0 spanning the halves and 10-2 midway through the second half to dispatch of the pesky Chargers, who shot 53.7 percent (22-for-41) from the field and 8-for-16 from three-point range.

Kevin Keltner and Billy Harrison scored 18 points apiece to lead Lancaster Bible (1-1 overall), with Keltner hitting all three of his three-point attempts and Harrison finishing 4-for-8 from beyond the arc. However, the Chargers committed 29 turnovers which led to 34 Blue Jay points.

Lancaster Bible used a 13-0 run to turn an early 10-9 deficit into a 22-10 lead on a layup by Carl Edwards with 8:08 left in the first half, and took its largest lead at 27-16 following a three-pointer by Harrison with 4:27 left in the half.

Trailing 30-20 with one minute left in the first half, the Blue Jays halved the Charger lead to 30-25 at halftime, then scored the first 10 points of the second half to take a 35-30 lead on two foul shots by Joe Flanagan (Lancaster, PA/Lancaster Mennonite) with 16:41 to go.

A three-pointer by Keith Fogel (Mifflinburg, PA/Mifflinburg) gave Elizabethtown a 42-33 lead with 14:39 to go, but the Chargers climbed back to a 44-44 tie on back-to-back three-pointers by Harrison and Keltner, the latter with 12:00 to play.

However, Flanagan and Chris Jones (Airville, PA/Kennard-Dale) answered with three-pointers to give Elizabethtown a 50-44 lead with 10:53 left, and after two foul shots by Keltner, Jones hit another three to extend the Blue Jay advantage to 53-46 with 10:03 remaining.

Harrison hit his fourth three-pointer of the night with 8:29 to play to bring the Chargers to within 54-52 at the 8:29 mark, but Lancaster Bible would score just one point over the next four minutes as Elizabethtown built a 60-53 lead with 4:56 to go.

Flanagan finished with 13 points in 23 minutes off the Blue Jay bench, while Fogel added 13 points and a career-high five steals. Edwards finished with 12 points and a team-high 11 rebounds for the Chargers.

From the Lancaster Bible College Website:

Elizabethtown, PA- The Chargers faced off against highly favored Elizabethtown Blue Jays on Tuesday night. Last season’s match-up ended with a 50 point blow out in favor of the Blue Jays. It was uncertain, coming into Tuesday, if history would repeat itself. With a 5 point lead at the break it was clear the Chargers had come to play. Despite the early strong play, Lancaster fell 73-62.

Chargers started off well and jumped out to early lead 22-10, with 8:08 left in the first half. The key to Lancaster’s success in the beginning stanza was excellent shot selection, shooting 59 percent, and a good defensive scheme holding the Blue Jays to 34 percent from the field. The Chargers were lead by junior big man Carl Edward’s (Baltimore, MD) 8 points and 6 rebounds in the first half, Edwards finished with 12 and 11 his first double- double of the season. To end the half Etown went on an 11-3 run to cut the Chargers halftime lead to 5, 30-25.

The second half belonged to the Blue Jays, they opened the half with 8 unanswered points to take the lead for the first time since early in the first half. In the ensuing minutes Lancaster would fall behind by 8. Just when the Blue Jays seemed to take control the Chargers tied the game at 44 all at the 12 minute mark. That would be as close as Lancaster would come, as E-town was able to hit back to back three’s to regain control.

Guards Kevin Keltner (Menomonee Falls, WI) and Billy Harrison (Douglassville, PA) tied for the game high with 18 points. Carl Edwards (Baltimore, MD) left an impact in the paint with 12 points and 11 boards. Etown’s Mike Church was a presence inside with 17 points, 11 boards, and 4 blocks.

The Chargers host Washington Bible this Friday for their home opener at 7:00 pm.