Church's Big Night Boosts Blue Jays Past Aggies, 71-65

From the E-town College Website:

Box score

DOYLESTOWN, Pa. --- Mike Church scored a game-high 19 points and grabbed a career-high 19 rebounds to lift Elizabethtown College past Delaware Valley College 71-65 in a non-conference men's basketball game on Tuesday night.

Joe Flanagan added 15 points while Keith Fogel finished with 12 points and a career-high nine assists for the Blue Jays (3-2 overall), who held the Aggies (2-2 overall) to just 28.6 percent shooting (10-for-35) from the field in the second half.

Church's 19 rebounds are the most for a Blue Jay player since Mark Sweet grabbed 19 boards against the University of Scranton in a conference playoff game on Feb. 22, 2000. His previous career high was 12 rebounds, done on three occasions, and the double-double was the 11th of his career.

James Jones paced Delaware Valley with 17 points while Jeremy Beckett added 13 points and seven rebounds, but the Aggies let an eight-point second-half lead slip away as the Blue Jays used a 14-5 run to take a 45-44 lead with 13:55 left on a three-point play by Flanagan.

The teams were tied five times in the sercond half, with Elizabethtown breaking the final deadlock on the second of two foul shots by Church with 5:52 to play. The foul shots triggered a 7-0 run that included a three-point play by Bryan Harrity and a layup by Flanagan that gave Elizabethtown a 62-56 lead with 4:01 left.

The Aggies pulled within three points at 64-61 on a three-pointer by Chris Mayo with 1:25 to go, but the Blue Jays went 5-for-6 from the foul line in the final 41 seconds to put the game out of reach.

Delaware Valley led 36-31 at halftime as Beckett went 5-for-6 from the field and scored a game-high 10 points for the Aggies. Elizabethtown committed 14 turnovers in the opening half, and was led by Church's nine points and 13 rebounds.

Also reaching double figures in the game for Elizabethtown was Brady Haughney, who came off the bench to score a career-high 10 points on 4-for-4 shooting in 18 minutes of action.

From the Delaware Valley College Website:

ELIZABETHTOWN POSTS 71-65 VICTORY OVER DELVAL

DOYLESTOWN (PA) – Mike Church notched 19 points 19 rebounds and was one of four Elizabethtown College players to score in double figures as the Blue Jays came from behind to defeat host Delaware Valley College, 71-65, in a non-conference game.

The game was tied at 26-26 with 6:09 remaining in the first half when the Aggies (2-2) scored 10 of the final 15 points in the stanza to take a lead into the break. Jason Sofman came off the bench to drain six of the 10 points for Delaware Valley.

The Aggies extended the lead to eight in the early moments of the second half as Jeremy Beckett had a three-point play. However, Elizabethtown (3-2) roared back with a 14-5 spurt, including six by Joe Flanagan and five by Church, to take a one-point lead.

The game went back and forth for the next seven minutes and Delaware Valley took, what turned out to be, its last lead of the game with 6:09 to go as Jon Evans completed a three-point play to make it 56-55. Church hit a pair of free throws 17 seconds later while Bryan Harrity had a three-point play and Flanagan added a layup for a 7-0 run and 62-56 Blue Jay advantage with 4:01 to go.

Delaware Valley pulled to within one possession as a Chris Mayo trey made it 64-61 with 1:25 left on the clock. However, Brady Haugney answered with a jumper and the Blue Jays hit five of six fouls shots down the stretch for the 71-65 final.

Church’s rebounding total was a career high and he also added four blocks in 34 minutes of action. Flanagan finished with 15 points while Haughney came off the bench to add 10. Keith Fogel tallied 12 points, nine assists, four rebounds, four steals and three blocks in the win.

James Jones led the Aggies with 17 points while Beckett ended the night with 13 points and seven boards. Sofman, Mayo and Jason Goldheimer added eight points apiece with Mayo also contributing a team-best eight rebounds.