Hot-Shooting Crusaders Down Blue Jays in Tourney Final, 89-78

From the E-town College Website:

11/21/2009 8:28:39 PM

Box score

SELINSGROVE, Pa. --- Harvey Pannell and Spenser Spencer scored 18 points apiece to lead host Susquehanna University to an 89-78 victory over Elizabethtown College in the championship game of the Pepsi/Weis Markets Tip-Off Tournament on Saturday afternoon.

Pannell shot 8-for-9 from the field and was named tournament Most Valuable Player while Spencer earned All-Tournament honors for the Crusaders (2-1 overall), who shot 59.7 percent overall (37-for-62) from the field and 66.7 percent (20-for-30) in the second half.

Joe Flanagan led the Blue Jays (2-2 overall) with 14 points and five rebounds while Mike Church also reached double figures with 12 points to go with five boards. Both players were named to the All-Tournament team.

Elizabethtown also turned in a strong shooting performance, hitting 60.9 percent (28-for-46) from the field for the game, but the Blue Jays committed 24 turnovers which led to 29 Crusader points.

Susquehanna never trailed in the game, opening up a 6-0 lead after three minutes, and carried a 43-35 lead into halftime behind 10 points from Pannell and nine each from Spencer and Rob Estep. Elizabethtown committed 16 turnovers in the opening half, offsetting strong 60 percent shooting (12-for-20) over the first 20 minutes.

Elizabethtown cut the Susquehanna lead to 45-42 on two foul shots by Church with 17:53 remaining, but the Crusaders scored the next six points to move ahead 51-42 with 16:23 left on a layup by J.T. Wilson.

The Blue Jays moved within seven points on three different occasions, but the Crusaders made seven consecutive field-goal attempts over a four-minute span to take a 70-59 lead with 9:11 to play. Susquehanna led by as many as 18 points in the final two minutes before Elizabethtown scored the final seven points.

Joining Pannell and Spencer in double figures for the Crusaders were Daryl Augustus with 12 points and Rob Estep with 14 points off the bench. Spencer and Bryan Majors each recorded six of the Crusaders' 19 steals in the game.

Elizabethtown finished with a 29-20 edge in rebounding in the game, and shot 17-for-21 from the foul line and 5-for-11 from three-point range as a team.

In the consolation game, Wilkes University routed Penn College 98-57 as Tom Kresge scored 26 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Colonels.

From the Susquehanna University Website:

Crusaders Claim Pepsi/Weis Tournament Title with 89-78 Win Over Elizabethtown

Boxscore

SELINSGROVE, Pa. -- Susquehanna University's tournament MVP and freshman guard/forward Harvey Pannell (Bloomfield, Conn./St. Thomas More) scored a game-high-tying 18 points on 8-for-9 shooting from the field and added three rebounds, five assists and two steals to lead Susquehanna to an 89-78 non-conference men's basketball win over Elizabethtown College in the 2009 Pepsi/Weis Markets Tip-Off Tournament championship game at Orlando W. Houts Gymnasium on Nov. 21.

SU's (2-1 overall) sophomore guard Spenser Spencer (Seattle, Wash./Lakeside) and senior guard Bryan Majors (Harrisburg, Pa./Harrisburg) joined Pannell on the all-tournament team.

Spencer also had 18 points against Elizabethtown (2-2 overall) and added three assists and five steals, while Majors had five points, two rebounds and game-highs of six assists and six steals.

Teammate and junior guard Rob Estep (York, Pa./West York) came off the bench to notch 14 points, including a game-high three three-pointers. Estep also handed out four assists.

Freshman forward and fellow Crusader Daryl Augustus (Baltimore, Md./Calvert Hall College HS) dropped in 12 points and a team-high-tying four boards. Junior forward Kenneth Anyanwu [Pennsauken, N.J./George (Pa.)] pulled down four as well.

The final score was closer than the game truly was, as the Crusaders never trailed. Estep's final three-pointer gave SU its biggest lead of the game at 18 points with 1 minute, 53 seconds left in the game.

Susquehanna advanced to the championship game of this tournament by defeating the Pennsylvania College of Technology, 84-48, on Nov. 20. Elizabethtown College topped Wilkes University, 66-57, in the other semifinal game earlier that same night.

The Blue Jays' junior guard/forward Joe Flanagan (Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) and senior center Mike Church (Peach Bottom, Pa./Solanco) also earned all-tournament honors. Flanagan scored a team-high 14 points and tied Church for the team-high with five rebounds. Flanagan also had three assists and tied sophomore guard Kyle McConnell (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest HS) with a team-high two steals.

Church scored 12 points, while McConnell scored eight to go along with two boards and two assists.

Elizabethtown's junior guard Keith Fogel (Mifflinburg, Pa./Mifflinburg Area) dished out a team-high five assists and added seven points and two rebounds.

Next Game: Sunday, Nov. 29, at Lycoming (non-conference game), 1 p.m.