KINGS POINT, N.Y. – Any road win is a good win in the game of basketball, especially so when it comes in conference play. Elizabethtown got the result it was looking for Monday afternoon because it put on its collective hard hat and pounded the ball inside to outscore Merchant Marine 44-14 in the paint. Lee Eckert had 12 points and Jake Sweger 11, as the Blue Jays held off the Mariners 73-65 for their second straight conference road win and fourth in a row overall.

Though E-town spent more time on a bus in the last 72 hours than it would care to, wins over Goucher Saturday and the Mariners Monday moved the Blue Jays 1.5 games clear of Drew for the final playoff spot ahead of a Saturday showdown against Susquehanna that could potentially be for third place heading into the final week of January.

Both teams needed time to get loose on a rare Martin Luther King Day matinee. Elizabethtown (8-9, 6-3 Landmark) missed its first six shots before Josh Eden's jumper at the 16:47 mark gave the visitors a 3-0 lead. The Mariners (3-13, 0-8 Landmark) couldn't take advantage, turning the ball over four times on their first six possessions.

Points continued to be a tough find throughout most of the first half. Merchant Marine tied the game at seven on David Smith's 3-pointer with 13:58 to go and took its only lead on Christian Wittendorf's free throw 47 seconds later. Elizabethtown led for all but 56 seconds Monday.

As slow as the start was for the Blue Jays and Mariners, the first half finish was just as frenetic.

The teams combined for 21 points in the final 3:11 after totaling just 44 between them in the ensuing 16:49. Wittendorf cut E-town's lead to five with 1:06 left, but on the Blue Jays' next offensive trip, Evan Hathaway worked around Sweger's screen off the right elbow to get to the rim for two of his six points on the afternoon.

After Robbie Kennedy's layup with 11 seconds left again put USMMA within five the Jays hustled to get the ball down the floor and Tyler Simpkiss banked in a running one-hander in the waning seconds for a 36-29 halftime lead.

Joe Bodnar scored eight of his 10 points in the second half and Sweger added six of his 11. Elizabethtown steadily increased its lead to 14 on Tommy James' layup with 5:25 to play that made it 62-48.

Eckert scored a quiet 12 points to lead Elizabethtown. Quiet or not, it was Eckert's fifth straight double-figure scoring game. The big man from Hempfield has reached double figures in 12-of-17 games this season.

Chief among the reasons Eckert's 12 points went under the radar was E-town's ability to move the ball on offense and get many players involved. The Blue Jays didn't forget what made them successful in Saturday's 71-48 win at Goucher where nine different guys scored points. Ten players found the scoresheet Monday.

Phil Wenger produced eight points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals. The Lancaster Catholic product will go into Saturday's home game against Susquehanna (4 p.m., BlueJays.TV) four steals shy of breaking the program record of 235 in a career.

Simpkiss added seven points, Matt Lapkowicz six, Tommy James five and Matt Lane four for the surging Jays.

E-town shot 47.3% (26-of-55) and managed to make 17-of-29 free throws to offset a Merchant Marine side that hit seven 3-pointers and got to the foul line 34 times (making 28). The Blue Jays, who have been the better rebounding team in all four games during their current winning streak, also got six boards from Sweger to hold a 38-31 edge on the glass.

Smith and Preston Padgett led the Mariners with 14 points apiece. Kennedy produced 11 points and five assists.