Blue Jays fall in overtime to Albright, 69-65

From the E-town College Website:

1/31/2009

Men's basketball falls in overtime to Albright, 69-65

ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE MEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, January 31, 2009

Albright 69, Elizabethtown 65 (OT)

Click here for the box score

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. --- Matt Bazsika scored the tying basket with five seconds remaining in regulation, then gave Albright College the lead for good in overtime as the Lions held off Elizabethtown College 69-65 in Commonwealth Conference men's basketball action at Thompson Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.

Baszika, who finished with 10 points, helped the Lions recover after the Blue Jays erased a 61-53 deficit by scoring 10 straight points in a span of 3 minutes, 30 seconds to take a 63-61 lead.

Phil Hall led all players with 14 points and 11 rebounds while brother Derek Hall added nine points and a game-high 13 boards off the bench for Albright (13-7 overall, 4-3 Commonwealth), which went scoreless for just over five minutes before Baszika's tying hoop.

Joe Flanagan (Lancaster, PA/Lancaster Mennonite) and Mike Church (Peach Bottom, PA/Solanco) shared the team lead in scoring for the Blue Jays (10-9 overall, 4-3 Commonwealth), who shot 35.5 percent (22-for-65) from the field in the game including 3-for-17 from three-point range.

Other than two brief one-point leads in the opening minutes, Elizabethtown trailed the entire contest until Kyle McConnell (Lebanon, PA/Cedar Crest) hit a layup with 1:41 to go to give the Blue Jays a 63-61 lead.

Albright led 54-47 with 7:54 to play, but three-pointers by Josh Houseal (Landisville, PA/Hempfield) and Church brought Elizabethtown to within 54-53 with 6:36 to go.

However, a three-pointer on the Lions' next possession by Matt Ashcroft sparked a 7-0 run that extended Albright's lead to 61-53 with 5:11 left. Elizabethtown countered with two foul shots from Flanagan, a layup by McConnell and two free throws by Houseal to move within 61-59 with 4:09 to go.

A thunderous baseline dunk by Church brought the Thompson Gymnasium crowd to its feet and tied the score at 61-61 with 2:26 to go, setting up McConnell's go-ahead hoop one possession later. But, the Lions were able to knot the game in the closing seconds and a last-ditch three-point attempt by the Blue Jays was off the mark, forcing overtime.

Albright led 33-28 at halftime behing eight points from Phil Hall and five each from Zac Shaeffer and Ashcroft. Flanagan and Phil Schaffer (Marmora, NJ/Ocean City) shared the team lead in scoring in the first half for Elizabethtown with seven points each.

McConnell and Houseal joined Flanagan and Church in double figures for Elizabethtown with 10 points each, while Houseal led the Blue Jays with nine rebounds. Ashcroft tallied 10 points off the bench for Albright, including a pair of three-pointers.