Jan 21, 2012
Box Score (Stat Crew) | Box Score (SIDEARM)
ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. — Elizabethtown and Alvernia were locked in a tight battle through the first 12 minutes of Saturday afternoon's Commonwealth Conference match-up at Thompson Gymnasium. That all changed with a game-changing 24-2 run by the Crusaders over the remainder of the half. The Blue Jays eventually went down to their 10th defeat of the season, 80-52.
It was a rough night across the board, as the Jays (6-10, 2-4) had a hard time with Alvernia's speed and athleticism. Will Schlosser temporarily put E-town in front with his 3-pointer at the 8:17 mark, but things quickly went south thereafter. Terrance Bridgers and Josh Vargas answered with treys of their own, while Stefan Thompson and Vargas finished a Brian Nerney pass off at the bucket for a 10-0 run in a matter of 1:49 that gave the Crusaders a 26-17 lead.
Alvernia's run continued through the end of the half, with Thompson and Vargas each tacking on seven points after the initial 10-0 start. Vargas went on to score a game-high 28 points on a very strong 9-of-13 shooting effort, and 8-of-9 at the foul line.
E-town threw out a number of lineup combinations in the second half, trying anything they could to close the gap. The Blue Jays' Lee Eckert hit a pair of free throws to make it a 17-point game, 59-42, with 7:24 remaining, but Vargas quickly scored on a lay-up and inside players Cory Boone and Nerney both knocked down a pair of shots at the charity stripe. The Crusaders made a nice living at that foul line on the evening, hitting 26-of-36 shots. No team had gone to the foul line 30 times in a game against E-town since way back in the early stages of the season when Richard Stockton got there 41 times in a 78-74 win over the Jays.
Vargas led three Crusaders in double figures. Nerney had 13 and 10 rebounds for a double-double and Thompson also had 13, 10 of which came before halftime. Boone matched Nerney with a game-high 10 rebounds and fell a point shy of a double-double himself.
Unable to find a consistent scoring presence all evening, E-town was held without a double figure scorer for the first time in five seasons. Eckert paved the way with nine points, five coming from the foul line. Schlosser finished with seven, and a trio of players: Joe Schwalm, Phil Wenger and Kyle McConnell all scored six. E-town was held to just 17 field goals on 58 attempts. The 29.3 percent success rate was its lowest of the season.
A career benchmark was reached, providing a shining light for a Blue Jay that has sacrificed with enormous hard work over his four seasons with the team. McConnell picked up a team-best three assists, the final of those coming with 17:43 to go in the game. It was that third assist that gave the Lebanon-born senior 305 in his career and tied him with Greg Adams and Aaron Blanding for 10th all-time in program history.
The Blue Jays will try to regroup on the road this Wednesday when they travel to Williamsport to take on Lycoming at 8 p.m.
ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. — Elizabethtown and Alvernia were locked in a tight battle through the first 12 minutes of Saturday afternoon's Commonwealth Conference match-up at Thompson Gymnasium. That all changed with a game-changing 24-2 run by the Crusaders over the remainder of the half. The Blue Jays eventually went down to their 10th defeat of the season, 80-52.
It was a rough night across the board, as the Jays (6-10, 2-4) had a hard time with Alvernia's speed and athleticism. Will Schlosser temporarily put E-town in front with his 3-pointer at the 8:17 mark, but things quickly went south thereafter. Terrance Bridgers and Josh Vargas answered with treys of their own, while Stefan Thompson and Vargas finished a Brian Nerney pass off at the bucket for a 10-0 run in a matter of 1:49 that gave the Crusaders a 26-17 lead.
Alvernia's run continued through the end of the half, with Thompson and Vargas each tacking on seven points after the initial 10-0 start. Vargas went on to score a game-high 28 points on a very strong 9-of-13 shooting effort, and 8-of-9 at the foul line.
E-town threw out a number of lineup combinations in the second half, trying anything they could to close the gap. The Blue Jays' Lee Eckert hit a pair of free throws to make it a 17-point game, 59-42, with 7:24 remaining, but Vargas quickly scored on a lay-up and inside players Cory Boone and Nerney both knocked down a pair of shots at the charity stripe. The Crusaders made a nice living at that foul line on the evening, hitting 26-of-36 shots. No team had gone to the foul line 30 times in a game against E-town since way back in the early stages of the season when Richard Stockton got there 41 times in a 78-74 win over the Jays.
Vargas led three Crusaders in double figures. Nerney had 13 and 10 rebounds for a double-double and Thompson also had 13, 10 of which came before halftime. Boone matched Nerney with a game-high 10 rebounds and fell a point shy of a double-double himself.
Unable to find a consistent scoring presence all evening, E-town was held without a double figure scorer for the first time in five seasons. Eckert paved the way with nine points, five coming from the foul line. Schlosser finished with seven, and a trio of players: Joe Schwalm, Phil Wenger and Kyle McConnell all scored six. E-town was held to just 17 field goals on 58 attempts. The 29.3 percent success rate was its lowest of the season.
A career benchmark was reached, providing a shining light for a Blue Jay that has sacrificed with enormous hard work over his four seasons with the team. McConnell picked up a team-best three assists, the final of those coming with 17:43 to go in the game. It was that third assist that gave the Lebanon-born senior 305 in his career and tied him with Greg Adams and Aaron Blanding for 10th all-time in program history.
The Blue Jays will try to regroup on the road this Wednesday when they travel to Williamsport to take on Lycoming at 8 p.m.