ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – Senior guard Phil Wenger tied Elizabethtown College men's basketball's career steals record that stood for 30 years with his 235th Saturday night at Thompson Gymnasium in front of the largest crowd this season. The Blue Jays' attempt to win their fifth straight game was foiled by visiting Susquehanna, 65-49.
Wenger finished with a team-high three swipes and nearly had the record-breaker in the second half. The Lancaster Catholic grad matched Ira R. Herr Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Damian Burnside for the program record and will have a chance to break it next Saturday at Scranton.
The Blue Jays and Crusaders were both riding four-game winning streaks coming into Saturday's game, but Elizabethtown (8-10, 6-4 Landmark) found life tough on offense in the first half. Tyler Simpkiss was 4-of-9 for a team-high nine points, but the rest of the Jays combined to shoot 5-of-20.
Susquehanna (14-4, 7-2 Landmark) broke a tie game with a 17-5 run to go in front 23-11 with 6:04 left in the first half. The Blue Jays could only muster a Lee Eckert baby hook and Simpkiss trey during a 13-minute stretch that left them with the arduous task of trying to climb out of a double-digit hole against one of the conference's best teams.
A traditional 3-point play by the Crusaders' Josh Miller threatened to bury the Blue Jays deeper, 28-14, with 1:36 to play, but a pair of turnovers led to consecutive Simpkiss layups. Matt Lane found a cutting Josh Eden for another lay in with four seconds to play and E-town had cut Susquehanna's lead back to single digits, 28-20, at the break.
Miller would take over for SU in the second half, scoring 14 of his game and season-high 20 points, and grabbing all six of his rebounds. Brandon Hedley's penetration also gave the Blue Jays issues, as he was able to get a couple of buckets in transition for eight of his 15 points.
Elizabethtown's woes on offense never reversed, keeping it from putting a serious scare into its long-time rival.
The Blue Jays took a season-high 23 3-pointers, but could come up with only four makes. For the game, E-town was held to 19-of-57 from the floor, resulting in a season-low 33.3 shooting percentage.
Steven Weidlich had 11 points and six boards for the Crusaders, which improved to 71-70 all-time against Elizabethtown. Jason Dietrich also reached double figures off the bench with 10 points. Weidlich was 3-of-5 from beyond the arc and Dietrich hit a pair. Along with five triples from Miller, Susquehanna went 11-of-27 from three on the night.
Simpkiss totaled 11 for the Jays, but was held without a basket after halftime. Lee Eckert added 10 points and six boards and Matt Lapkowicz had eight for the blue and gray.
For the second straight week, Elizabethtown has no midweek game on its schedule. The Blue Jays return to the court Saturday at Scranton for a 4 p.m. tip.
