Jan 11, 2012
Box Score (Stat Crew) | Box Score (SIDEARM)
ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. — More than a few eyebrows will likely raise when followers of Commonwealth Conference men's basketball take a look at Wednesday night's results. Elizabethtown College, picked seventh in the league's preseason poll, stunned Widener 78-76 at Thompson Gymnasium behind a vital layup from Andrew Mantz and some late-game composure. In doing so, E-town improves to 5-8 on the season and gets its first league win.
The Pride sent the nation's 12th highest scoring offense at the Blue Jays (5-8, 1-2 CC) in droves early on. Before the game was three minutes old, Jack Brennan and Rob McPherson had scored four points apiece to give Widener a 10-2 lead. Unfazed, E-town needed a little over two minutes to bring the Pride back to them. Joe Schwalm (game-high 19 points) knocked down a three, Steve Ennis hit a foul shot and Phil Wenger and Andrew Mantz both had layups to make it 10-10 by the five minute mark.
While the pushback was a positive for E-town, Widener (10-4, 1-2 CC) again threatened to take off. The visitors used six points from Lamar Jackson, two treys by Brian Smith and another triple from Andrew Radomicki to set off an 18-8 run that put them ahead 28-18 with under eight minutes to go in the first half.
Widener's lead held steady until the Blue Jays again grabbed hold of momentum and refused to let go. Trailing by seven with 1:19 left, Schwalm sent another one through the twine for three and Mantz threw down a thunderous dunk on the baseline thanks to a pretty dish from Jon Markel to leave E-town down just two, 32-30, at halftime.
Elizabethtown had set itself up for another close game, but that should come as a surprise to no one. Ten of the Blue Jays' last 11 games have been decided by 10 points or less and each of the last four by no more than three points.
The fact that E-town and Widener were playing in close quarters would be even less of a surprise. The Jays took a 76-75 victory from Chester last season in overtime, and then Widener answered with a buzzer-beating three from Smith, who was still going by B.J. (instead of Brian) in last year's battle at Thompson Gymnasium.
Even though the homestanding Blue Jays showed their ability to recover in the first half, no turn of events was bigger than the 16-1 run they put together four minutes into the second half. Brennan's free throw at 16:19 had given Widener a 39-34 lead, but the Pride went into meltdown mode, picking up two offensive fouls and five turnovers as the Blue Jays zoomed right by them.
Lee Eckert started the run with a free throw, before Dan Silver laid one in and was hacked on the drive. Silver converted the free throw to pull E-town within one, but before the Jays could even get back on defense, Wenger had stolen McPherson's inbounds pass and dropped it right back in the bucket for the lead.
Last Saturday's big scorer, Will Schlosser, then took center stage by drilling a deep three that made it 45-39, and following a pair of foul shots from Wenger, Schlosser stepped up from the left corner and put home another one for a 50-40 Elizabethtown advantage, its largest of the night.
Relentlessness was shown by both teams, and Widener answered again, grabbing a 70-66 lead on Smith's triple with 4:10 to go. Brennan's pair at the charity stripe with 1:17 left made it 76-75 Pride, but it was Widener's last lead of the game.
Mantz took Brennan one-on-one in the paint and used a spin move to the middle, one of his signatures, to outmaneuver Widener's 6-foot-7 senior. It would be Brennan that turned the ball over to Wenger with under 10 seconds left. Schlosser hit one-of-two free throws, but the Pride never got a shot to tie or win it, as Dan Silver rebounded Schlosser's miss on the second shot to wrap up the win.
The teams were dead even in the paint at 22 points apiece, but E-town's bench came alive to score 24 points. Schlosser led that effort with 11, his sixth double-figure game of the year. Silver and Eckert both had seven-point, three-rebound nights in reserve roles. Both were also 3-of-3 from the floor.
Schwalm was a very efficient 7-of-11 on the night and included three 3-pointers on his way to 19 points. Wenger was 6-of-9 from the free throw line and finished with 12. Mantz was two points short of another double-double. He finished with 10 boards, tying him with Widener's Perry Wright for a game-high. The Pride got 18 from Smith, 15 from Jackson, 14 from Brennan and 12 from Wright as they were held 10 points under their season average.
Albright awaits the Blue Jays on Saturday in Reading. The Lions, coming off a loss last Saturday at the hands of Division I Cornell, fell 60-57 at Messiah Wednesday evening to remain the league's only team without a conference win. E-town, by virtue of its win, is one of three teams at 1-2 in the conference. The Jays sit a game back of the league's final playoff spot, but with a majority of its games still yet to be played. Tip-off from the Bollman Center is scheduled for 2 p.m.
ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. — More than a few eyebrows will likely raise when followers of Commonwealth Conference men's basketball take a look at Wednesday night's results. Elizabethtown College, picked seventh in the league's preseason poll, stunned Widener 78-76 at Thompson Gymnasium behind a vital layup from Andrew Mantz and some late-game composure. In doing so, E-town improves to 5-8 on the season and gets its first league win.
The Pride sent the nation's 12th highest scoring offense at the Blue Jays (5-8, 1-2 CC) in droves early on. Before the game was three minutes old, Jack Brennan and Rob McPherson had scored four points apiece to give Widener a 10-2 lead. Unfazed, E-town needed a little over two minutes to bring the Pride back to them. Joe Schwalm (game-high 19 points) knocked down a three, Steve Ennis hit a foul shot and Phil Wenger and Andrew Mantz both had layups to make it 10-10 by the five minute mark.
While the pushback was a positive for E-town, Widener (10-4, 1-2 CC) again threatened to take off. The visitors used six points from Lamar Jackson, two treys by Brian Smith and another triple from Andrew Radomicki to set off an 18-8 run that put them ahead 28-18 with under eight minutes to go in the first half.
Widener's lead held steady until the Blue Jays again grabbed hold of momentum and refused to let go. Trailing by seven with 1:19 left, Schwalm sent another one through the twine for three and Mantz threw down a thunderous dunk on the baseline thanks to a pretty dish from Jon Markel to leave E-town down just two, 32-30, at halftime.
Elizabethtown had set itself up for another close game, but that should come as a surprise to no one. Ten of the Blue Jays' last 11 games have been decided by 10 points or less and each of the last four by no more than three points.
The fact that E-town and Widener were playing in close quarters would be even less of a surprise. The Jays took a 76-75 victory from Chester last season in overtime, and then Widener answered with a buzzer-beating three from Smith, who was still going by B.J. (instead of Brian) in last year's battle at Thompson Gymnasium.
Even though the homestanding Blue Jays showed their ability to recover in the first half, no turn of events was bigger than the 16-1 run they put together four minutes into the second half. Brennan's free throw at 16:19 had given Widener a 39-34 lead, but the Pride went into meltdown mode, picking up two offensive fouls and five turnovers as the Blue Jays zoomed right by them.
Lee Eckert started the run with a free throw, before Dan Silver laid one in and was hacked on the drive. Silver converted the free throw to pull E-town within one, but before the Jays could even get back on defense, Wenger had stolen McPherson's inbounds pass and dropped it right back in the bucket for the lead.
Last Saturday's big scorer, Will Schlosser, then took center stage by drilling a deep three that made it 45-39, and following a pair of foul shots from Wenger, Schlosser stepped up from the left corner and put home another one for a 50-40 Elizabethtown advantage, its largest of the night.
Relentlessness was shown by both teams, and Widener answered again, grabbing a 70-66 lead on Smith's triple with 4:10 to go. Brennan's pair at the charity stripe with 1:17 left made it 76-75 Pride, but it was Widener's last lead of the game.
Mantz took Brennan one-on-one in the paint and used a spin move to the middle, one of his signatures, to outmaneuver Widener's 6-foot-7 senior. It would be Brennan that turned the ball over to Wenger with under 10 seconds left. Schlosser hit one-of-two free throws, but the Pride never got a shot to tie or win it, as Dan Silver rebounded Schlosser's miss on the second shot to wrap up the win.
The teams were dead even in the paint at 22 points apiece, but E-town's bench came alive to score 24 points. Schlosser led that effort with 11, his sixth double-figure game of the year. Silver and Eckert both had seven-point, three-rebound nights in reserve roles. Both were also 3-of-3 from the floor.
Schwalm was a very efficient 7-of-11 on the night and included three 3-pointers on his way to 19 points. Wenger was 6-of-9 from the free throw line and finished with 12. Mantz was two points short of another double-double. He finished with 10 boards, tying him with Widener's Perry Wright for a game-high. The Pride got 18 from Smith, 15 from Jackson, 14 from Brennan and 12 from Wright as they were held 10 points under their season average.
Albright awaits the Blue Jays on Saturday in Reading. The Lions, coming off a loss last Saturday at the hands of Division I Cornell, fell 60-57 at Messiah Wednesday evening to remain the league's only team without a conference win. E-town, by virtue of its win, is one of three teams at 1-2 in the conference. The Jays sit a game back of the league's final playoff spot, but with a majority of its games still yet to be played. Tip-off from the Bollman Center is scheduled for 2 p.m.