ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – Elizabethtown men's basketball went toe-to-toe with league unbeaten Catholic Tuesday night at Thompson Gymnasium, taking the Cardinals down to the final few possessions before coming up a bit short in a 62-56 Landmark Conference defeat. Phil Wenger and Matt Lapkowicz, who hit a pair of timely 3-pointers, scored 12 points to lead the Blue Jays.

Joe Bodnar scored eight points and Tyler Simpkiss seven, as Elizabethtown took advantage of the roady weary Cardinals early.

Catholic (10-3, 4-0 Landmark) led 7-6 with 15:22 to go in the first half after a Bryson Fonville pull up jumper from the foul line, but went the 6:53 without a point. The dry spell allowed the Blue Jays to score 11 unanswered points and build a 17-7 lead.

A 3-pointer from the right wing off the fingertips of Matt Lane gave the Jays (4-8, 2-2 Landmark) their largest advantage of the opening half, 22-11, with 5:42 to play.

The visitors, most notably 6-foot-4 sophomore forward Corey Stanford, would put in a 15-6 surge the rest of the way, however, cutting E-town's lead to just a pair, 28-26, at the half. Stanford splashed in a pair of 3-pointers and scored 10 of his game-high 26 points in the run.

Kyle Phanord was left alone in the left corner and his three went down to start the second half, giving the Cards a 29-28 lead. Neither team could break away, though, as the lead changed hands nine times in the second half alone.

Elizabethtown controlled the paint 20-12 in the second half, sometimes using its guards to do the dirty work inside. Wenger used a height mismatch on his opposing point guard to score eight of his 12 points in the period. Lapkowicz netted 10 of his 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting (2-of-2 3FG) in just seven minutes.

Lapkowicz's contributions, along with a basket from Tommy James, helped E-town hold a 12-0 advantage in bench points in the second half.

Though Catholic may not have been able to match points with the Blue Jays in the paint, Stanford and Jay Howard worked hard down low to get rewarded with free throws. Stanford made 7-of-8 tries and Howard was 5-of-8, as the Cards went 13-of-19 in the half, while E-town missed all five of its attempts.

Howard's pretty spin and catch off Stanford's entry pass led to a 3-point play with 3:42 left that put Catholic up for good, 54-53, with 3:42 to go.

Trailing by three with 95 seconds to play, the Blue Jays took a blow to their chances when the referees hit Lee Eckert with a technical foul on what looked to be minimal body-to-body contact under the basket. The foul was Eckert's fifth, forcing him to the bench, and Stanford made both free throws to extend the Catholic lead to 58-53.

Stanford was the only player on the night to record a double-double after game-highs of 26 points and 12 rebounds. Howard had 11 points, all in the second half, and Fonville played a strong all-around game with eight points, seven boards and five assists.

Following a 37.9% first half shooting effort, the Cards picked it up to 40% in the second and finished 21-of-54 (38.9%). They were also 14-of-24 at the foul line.

Elizabethtown shot better at 25-of-59 (42.4%) and was much more efficient from 3-point range, connecting on 6-of-14 attempts (42.9%). But the Blue Jays' 0-of-7 effort from the line was the difference.

Tuesday marked the first time a Bob Schlosser coached team failed to make a free throw in a game since he took the head position at the start of the 1990-91 season, a span of 626 games. Prior to Tuesday, the fewest free throws made in a game under Schlosser was one. It happened twice, ironically both times at Widener. On Feb. 10, 2007, the Jays went 1-of-2 in a 69-53 loss. They were 1-of-5 in a 64-63 victory on Jan. 15, 2005.

Wenger put up five rebounds, five assists and two steals along with his 12 points. The senior from Lancaster picked up his 222nd and 223rd career steals, moving to within 12 of tying Damian Burnside's program record. Lapkowicz set a new career-high for the second game in a row, as his 12 points followed a 10-point showing Sunday against New Jersey City.

Bodnar added 10 points, while Simpkiss had nine and six rebounds. Eckert, the team's leading scorer, was held to two points on 1-of-6 from the floor.

The Blue Jays will try to snap a three-game skid Thursday at Juniata. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.