ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. -- The senior guard combo of Peter Harding and Matt Lapkowicz torched Stevenson for 45 points Tuesday night, with Harding dropping a career-high 27 in the Blue Jays' 80-69 season-opening victory at Thompson Gymnasium.

Coming off a 3-21 season last year and picked to finish at the bottom of the Landmark once again, the Blue Jays showed, at least on this night, that they want to write a far different script.

Harding scored 21 of his game-high total in the first half when the Blue Jays (1-0) built a 40-29 advantage. He went 5-of-11 from the floor, including 4-of-8 from downtown to will Elizabethtown over the athletic Mustangs (0-1). His first bucket of the evening came just over five minutes in, a 3-pointer that tied the game at 11 and started a 13-0 run for the hosts.

The Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania, native splashed another pair of treys in the run, which was also bolstered by a Lapkowicz steal and layup, along with a follow-up basket from senior forward Jake Sweger.

All four seniors in the starting lineup played with a chip on their shoulders. Lapkowicz, limited to 16 games by injury a season ago, scored 18 --one shy of his career-high-- on 6-of-12 shooting (4-of-7 3FG); Josh Eden also went 6-of-12 on his way to a 15-point effort and Sweger had eight to go along with a game-high eight rebounds.

E-town, which averaged just 64.2 points per game as a squad in 2015-16, reached the 80-point mark in its opener after only reaching it twice in 24 games last winter.

Stevenson coach Gary Stewart brought a revamped roster to Thompson Gym, having lost seven of his top nine scorers from last year's MAC Commonwealth Tournament qualifying team.

It took awhile for the Mustangs to get comfortable, but they slowly chipped away at the Jays' lead in the second half. Cameron Hayes tipped in a missed free throw by Cliff Cornish to give Stevenson its first lead since 15:12 of the first half, 57-56, with 7:48 to play.

Stevenson extended that lead to 62-56 before Harding and Lapkowicz drilled threes on three consecutive possessions to start Elizabethtown's surge to the finish. Lapkowicz's long ball with 5:20 to play put the Blue Jays in front for good, 67-64, and they outscored the Mustangs 24-7 over the final 6:44.

Not only were Harding and Lapkowicz shooting the ball well, they surprisingly hit the boards with regularity. Lapkowicz brought in seven rebounds and Harding a career-best six.

Freshmen guards Bryce Greene (five points) and Ethan DuBois (three) each scored their first career points in their first collegiate games. Sophomore forward Matt Thomas, who developed with E-town's JV program as a rookie, gave Blue Jays' coach Bob Schlosser 16 strong minutes and his first varsity bucket was a big one, as it put the home side ahead by five, 69-64, with 3:59 to go.

Hayes paced the Mustangs with 20 points and Cornish had 15. Stevenson shot just 6-of-24 (25%) from 3-point land, compared to the Jays' 10-of-21 (47.6%). All 10 3-pointers came from Harding (six) and Lapkowicz (four).

Elizabethtown will face Wesley in the opening round of the Rinso Marquette Tournament, hosted by Lebanon Valley, Saturday at 6 p.m.