Big Win Last Night!

Yeah, yeah, everyone knows that Carolina handled the Dukies last night. The real action was taking place in E-town, PA! Following are the game recaps from around the Web:

First, from the E-town College Website:

2/11/2009

Men's hoops blows past Lycoming, 76-56

ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE MEN'S BASKETBALL
Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Elizabethtown 76, Lycoming 56

Click here for the box score

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. --- Joe Flanagan (Lancaster, PA/Lancaster Mennonite) scored a game-high 20 points as Elizabethtown College posted a 76-56 victory over Lycoming College in a key Commonwealth Conference men's basketball game on Wednesday night at Thompson Gymnasium.

Keith Fogel (Mifflinburg, PA/Mifflinburg) added 14 points for the Blue Jays (11-11 overall, 5-5 Commonwealth), who moved past the Warriors (11-10 overall, 4-5 Commonwealth) into the fourth and final playoff spot in the conference standings with two games remaining.

Elizabethtown used a 13-0 run midway through the second half to take control, and went 7-for-14 from three-point range as a team to sweep the season series from Lycoming.

Brandon Wilkinson hit four three-pointers off the bench for Lycoming and finished with a team-high 12 points, but the Warriors shot just 42.6 percent (20-for-47) overall from the field despite going 9-for-15 from three-point range.

Other than brief ties at 10-10 and 15-15, the Blue Jays led the entire first half, taking their largest lead into the locker room at 38-28 as Flanagan led all players with 15 points.

In the second half, the Blue Jays led 43-35 with 15:42 remaining before scoring the next 13 points, with Flanagan and Fogel each hitting three-pointers during the run to give Elizabethtown a 56-35 advantage with 10:29 remaining.

Mark Vogel (Landisville, PA/Hempfield) led the Blue Jay reserves with eight points in 15 minutes off the bench, while Kyle McConnell (Lebanon, PA/Cedar Crest) and Brian Allport (Quarryville, PA/Solanco) tallied six points apiece.

Joining Wilkinson in double figures for Lycoming were Greg Sye, who scored 11 points on 5-for-14 shooting, and Eric Anthony with 10 points. Three players shared the team lead in rebounding for the Warriors with five, as Elizabethtown finished with a 37-29 edge in the glass.

Mike Church (Peach Bottom, PA/Solanco) scored just five points in 31 minutes for the Blue Jays, but added game highs of six rebounds, five assists, four steals and three blocked shots.

From the Lycoming College Website:

Warriors fall in Commonwealth match-up 76-56

- 2-11-09 -

Box Score

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. --- The Lycoming College men’s basketball team fell to Elizabethtown College in a conference match up Wednesday, Feb, 11 by a score of 76-56. While the Warriors shot at a 42.6 (20-47) percent clip, the shots that did not find the bottom of the net were grabbed by Blue Jay defenders, Who out-rebounded the Warriors, 37-29.

With the loss, Lycoming is now 11-10 overall and fall to 4-5 in the Commonwealth Conference. Elizabethtown improves to 11-11, and 5-5 in the conference.

The majority of the Warrior offense was on the shoulders of Brandon Wilkinson, Greg Sye and Eric Anthony. Wilkinson was the points-leader for Lycoming with 12, going 4-of-6 from beyond the three-point arc. Sye had 11 points and was tied with Will Kelly for team-high rebounds (5) while Anthony recorded 10 points.

On the Elizabethtown offense, Joe Flanagan was the game-high scorer with 20. Keith Fogel scored a second best 14. Mike Church played big on the glass, grabbing six while Josh Houseal had five. Four other Blue Jays had four rebounds.

With the results, there are three teams vying for the fourth playoff spot in the conference.

Elizabethtown is 5-5 with two conference games left to play, Lycoming is 4-5 with three Commonwealth games remaining, and Lebanon Valley is 4-6, also with two games slated.

Lycoming’s next game will be Saturday, Feb. 14 in Chester, Pa. when they face-off against Widener at a 3 p.m. tipoff.

From the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal:

Jays look to peak as playoffs near
Elizabethtown routs Lycoming in men’s basketball; eyes CC berth

Intelligencer Journal
Published: Feb 12, 200901:18 EST
Elizabethtown

By MATT BLYMIER, Sports Writer

Elizabethtown College men's basketball team has found itself climbing peaks before falling into valleys this season.

The Blue Jays headed into Wednesday night's Commonwealth Conference showdown opposite Lycoming College in one of those aforementioned valleys — a three-game losing streak.

Following the 76-56 win over the Warriors — the Jays' largest margin of victory this season — Elizabethtown appears to be heading up another peak, mainly toward a berth into the Commonwealth Conference playoffs.

"This game was so critical for us because we were right around that fourth spot (in the conference standings)," said E-town coach Bob Schlosser, who earned his 290th career win. "So we had to come out and play with some energy and we did."

The victory moves the Blue Jays (5-5 CC, 11-11 overall) ahead of Lycoming (4-5, 11-10) into the fourth spot in the conference with the top four teams at the end of the season earning playoff berths.

Elizabethtown has two games left against the bottom two teams in the conference, Lebanon Valley and Arcadia. Lycoming has three games remaining versus the top three teams — Widener, Albright and Messiah.

"It takes pressure off of us," said Solanco grad Mike Church, who scored five points with six rebounds, five assists and four steals. "The past two years we haven't performed very well in the conference at all. To have our destiny in our hands, it gives us a new energy. Every game is a real big deal."

Lycoming kept it interesting in the first half by tying the contest two different times, but never taking the lead.

Austin Smith's layup at the 14:30 mark knotted the score at 10-10 before the Jays responded with five unanswered points with Church hitting a free throw and Bryan Harrity and Keith Fogel (14 points) each scoring a pair.

The Warriors fought back again to even the score at 15-15 but the Jays quickly retook the lead with a pair of threes from Mark Vogel (8) and Josh Houseal (5). Houseal's trey came after Church blocked Greg Sye at the other end of the court.

Lancaster Mennonite alum Joe Flanagan pumped in 15 of his game-high 20 points in the first half as Elizabethtown headed into the locker room leading 38-28.

The Blue Jays picked up in the second half where they left off in the first as they gradually wore down the Warriors on defense and continued hitting their shots. E-town slowly ran away with the game thanks in large part to an 11-0 scoring run with 10:29 left in the game.

With his team seemingly on its mark and two games left to play, Schlosser likes his chances of reaching the playoffs after a two-year drought.

"We have two games left and we control our own destiny," explained Schlosser. "That's what we have to deal with.

"I like to think that we are in a pretty good position."