Box Score (StatCrew) | Box Score (SIDEARM)
ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – In a game that featured two teams headed towards different directions at the end of the season, you would be hard pressed to determine which team on the court was battling for a playoff spot. The Elizabethtown College men's basketball team took playoff hopeful Lycoming to the wire Tuesday night at Thompson Gymnasium. The Blue Jays were led by Ben Cable's 34-point game, but ultimately fell to Lycoming in the final seconds 69-68.
Cable, who has been electric in the final stretch of the season, put up 34 points along with nine rebounds while going 9-of-12 from the foul line. The 34 points is a career high for Cable in the Blue and Gray. Cable has now contributed 61 points in his last two games. During this stretch, the junior has twice tied the school record for most three-point shots made in a game (seven).
Lee Eckert scored 10, pulling down six boards. David Feuz racked up nine points coming off the bench with four boards.
Elizabethtown (8-15, 49 CC) controlled the first half right up until the closing minutes. Lycoming (18-6, 8-5 CC) tied things up at 24 just under five minutes remaining. Feuz drained two foul shots and banked one in with ten ticks left to bring E-town a little closer to the Warriors 33-31 halftime lead.
The second half played out like most games in the Commonwealth Conference, tightly contested, close points on the scoreboard and the smallest margin of error. The Blue Jays upped the offense. Lycoming kept at their heels, putting pressure on the Jays to find ways to create separation. The biggest gap E-town could find was a 60-55 score with six minutes left. Eckert's layup at 1:06 gave Elizabethtown the 68-67 lead. Both teams felt the clock winding down on them, trying to find scoring touch to put their team ahead. Lycoming found their answer. Jerald Williams sank two free throw shots with six seconds left to give the Warriors their first lead in over eight minutes. The Jays leading scorer, Cable, had the ball in his hands for one last chance, but it wasn't to be as Lycoming sealed the win 69-68 in a battle between two good Commonwealth Conference teams.
Elizabethtown will close out the 2011-2012 season on the road against Messiah. The last meeting between the two teams, the Falcons edged out the Jays in a 63-56 victory at Thompson Gymnasium. The Blue Jays will battle the Falcons Saturday at 4 p.m.