CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – Elizabethtown looked to be headed back to .500 when it took control of DeSales with an 18-4 run to end the first half, but the Bulldogs fought back in the second to send the game to overtime and eventually won it in a second extra session, 72-69, Saturday afternoon at the DeSales Holiday Tournament.
The Blue Jays (4-6) will now face the loser of McDaniel/New Jersey City at 2 p.m. Sunday.
Lee Eckert had eight of his team-leading 19 points before the break, while Josh Eden, playing a half-hour south from his hometown of Slatington, came off the bench to produce eight points on 4-of-4 shooting.
Just past the halfway point of the opening period, Evan Hathaway found Matt Lane for Lane's only 3-pointer of the afternoon to tie the game at 16.
That would be the last of five times the teams were knotted in the half, as Elizabethtown broke away from the Bulldogs (8-3) with their inside play. The Blue Jays last eight baskets in the half came in the paint. Jake Sweger provided three of them and Eden two, and the visitors carried a comfortable 34-20 lead to the locker room.
Sweger converted a pair of free throws less than 30 seconds into the second half to give the blue and gray its biggest lead of the game, 36-20, but the Bulldogs would soon charge back providing the Blue Jays with some dejavu from their last meeting.
A little over a year ago, DeSales came from 12 down with 10 minutes left to knock off Elizabethtown in the Gettysburg Tip-Off Tournament Championship. Saturday, the Blue Jays were up 13 with 10:05 to go after two Eckert free throws.
DeSales scored 20 of the final 27 points, while E-town missed six of its final eight shots and got careless with the ball. When Aaron Burton made a layup with 1:26 to go the result was a 55-55 deadlock.
Elizabethtown still had shot to win it on its final possession, but Phil Wenger's layup try was off the mark and the Blue Jays went to overtime for the first time this season.
The teams traded the lead in overtime, before Wenger found Eckert for a layup and a 61-61 tie with 12 seconds left. This time, DeSales had the final possession, but Cody Deal's 3-pointer was no good.
A Joe Bodnar three with 1:45 left in double overtime put E-town up 67-66, but with the game tied at 67, Brian Laird's triple with 36 ticks left put DeSales up for good.
Laird led all scorers with 22 points, going 8-of-11 from the floor and 4-of-7 from 3-point range. Burton had 17 and nine boards, while Travis Bryan provided 10 points and 12 rebounds for the hosts.
Seven of E-town's 13 turnovers came in the final 10 minutes of the second half. Outside of that rough stretch, the Blue Jays did a nice job to protect the ball.
Eckert produced 19 points and six rebounds. Bodnar and Eden had points apiece, while Sweger and Wenger followed with nine. Wenger also chipped in six assists and two steals.
The Blue Jays shot 41.4% (29-of-70) from the floor, but were just 3-of-19 from deep. That was a bit better than DeSales' 39.7% (23-of-58) overall, but the Bulldogs connected at a 35.7% clip from outside and were 21-of-30 at the foul line, nearly doubling Elizabethtown's 16 attempts.
