Annville, PA — And so, the blues song which is the Lebanon Valley College men's basketball season continues.
The latest verse sung by Rick Van Pelt and the Falcons.
Messiah increased a two-point halftime lead into an 11-point margin midway through the second period of Wednesday night's Commonwealth Conference tilt at LVC Gymnasium, then hung on for dear life to take out the host Dutchmen by a 65-63 score — LVC's fifth straight loss and fourth by two points or less.
Senior Jamie Yoder was fouled with 22 seconds remaining in regulation and drained a pair of free throws to unlock a 63-63 tie, while Messiah's defense stood the test on a pair of LVC possessions in the waning moments to hang on for the win.
The result pushed Messiah (10-5, 3-3) into a two-way tie for third place in the Commonwealth standings, while Lebanon Valley (6-9, 2-4) fell into a tie for fourth in the worst imaginable way: In three of its last four losses, the Dutchmen possessed a lead in the final minute of regulation and still lost.
While LVC was unable to capture a second-half lead against Messiah Wednesday, the hosts did tie the game on five different occasions in the final 20 minutes, making the league win extra exhilarating for head coach Van Pelt and company — and equally crushing for the home team.
“A huge win,” Van Pelt said immediately afterward. “Any league win on the road is huge, but this one's especially big for us because it gets us out of that 'win one, lose one, home-away' pattern that is so easy to get into within conference play. We hit some big shots tonight, but I really feel it was our defense and rebounding that keyed this win. People will talk about the threes, but I really think we came up with some crucial defensive stops and rebounds that really made the difference.”
Facing a zone defense for the majority of the contest, Van Pelt's squad buried a season-high 14 triples Wednesday, converting off a season-high 30 attempts (46.7 percent). Juniors Josh Hartman and Tyler Ritzman — along with freshman Derek Mosley — got the long-ball party started in the first half, each burying two to help Messiah to its narrow halftime lead.
Ritzman's first triple gave Messiah a 23-17 lead midway through the opening period, while his second pushed the visitors to a 29-21 lead with 6:18 to play — the Falcons' largest advantage of the opening stanza. LVC would close the gap via an 11-5 run to finish out the half, but the Falcons would go on to hit seven of 15 from deep in the second period as well — duplicating their first-half numbers.
Freshman Chris Yoder opened the final period with a trifecta just 45 seconds in, and Messiah was would again build a lead by shredding the zone from afar. Another triple from Hartman made it a 40-32 contest just two minutes in, and when the Millersville, Md. native rang up his fourth trey of the game with 14:24 to go, the Falcons had their largest lead of the night (48-37).
“Our bench play was big in the first half,” Van Pelt said. “Tyler (Ritzman) and Derek (Mosley) came in and gave us a lift with their shooting, and I think we fed off that as a group. Even though we shot the ball well, I still didn't think our zone offense was all that fluid from start to finish. We certainly will watch the film and work on that in practice, I can assure you.”
Despite facing a packed-in defense, Van Pelt's group still turned it over 11 times, while a mini-shooting slump midway through the second half helped Lebanon Valley get back in the mix. Following a turnover from senior Kyle Snyder, Messiah missed seven of its next nine shots from the floor, aiding LVC to a 16-5 run over the game's ensuing six and a half minutes.
A hanging layup from the Dutchmen's Joe Meehan tied the game at 53-53. Sophomore Trey Ritzman responded, converting a layup of his own on the Falcons' next possession. LVC answered once more with seven minutes to play, as Meehan attacked the rim again, tying the game at 55-55.
Suddenly, Van Pelt's team was in a heated conference battle.
Nothing another three couldn't help.
Freshman Chris Yoder buried the second of his three triples with 6:26 to go, taking an assist from Trey Ritzman following a block from Snyder and an ensuing scramble for a loose ball on the Falcons' end of the floor.
Van Pelt said that basket in particular was a key to the win.
“Not because it changed the score all that much, but it was just how we scored it,” he said. “We got that bucket off of pure heart and desire. There were several times on that possession that we could have lost the ball, but we got on the floor and maintained possession. Then we made a good pass, and Chris knocked down a wide-open shot. Sheer guts, effort, that 's what wins games. That's three-fourths of the battle.”
Lebanon Valley would tie the game thrice more in the final five minutes of play, but each time Van Pelt's group would provide an answer. A pair of free throws from Snyder erased a 58-58 deadlock with 4:47 to go, while a baseline bomb from Chris Yoder turned a 60-60 affair into a 63-60 Messiah lead with 3:58 remaining.
From there things got interesting, as Meehan converted one of two free throws on LVC's next trip, pulling within one. Messiah then appeared to have a pass deflected out of bounds on its next possession, but it was ruled a turnover, and Lebanon Valley had another opportunity. The Dutchmen's Jordan Stewart converted a tough jumper in the lane with just under two minutes to go, tying the game at 63-63.
After Chris Yoder missed a three on Messiah's next possession, Hartman came up with a huge play on the defensive end of the court, drawing a charge on LVC's Meehan. The Falcons couldn't convert on its next trip, but Meehan traveled on the Dutchmen's next possession, giving the ball back to Messiah with just under 45 seconds to play.
This time, the visitors got a great look.
Jamie Yoder curled down the lane and received the ball in scoring position, being fouled hard by Meehan. Yoder calmly buried both free throws with 22 ticks left, giving Messiah the 65-63 lead.
Following a Messiah timeout, Hartman again defended Meehan well on LVC's next set, forcing a miss. Snyder got a tough board in traffic, and was promptly fouled with three seconds left.
Snyder missed the front end of the one-and-one, and LVC had one final gasp left in its tank: Following a timeout, the Dutchmen threw a baseball pass to Meehan near halfcourt, and the guard took three dribbles before firing a closely-guarded 20 footer for the win.
His shot banged off the backboard and harmlessly to the ground, and Messiah had escaped.
Jamie Yoder paced the Falcons' offense with 14 points, grabbing seven rebounds as well. Hartman added 12 (all on threes) while Chris Yoder provided 10 points and eight rebounds. Snyder finished with nine points and a game-high 13 boards, narrowly missing out on his third double-double of the season.
“We rebounded well,” Van Pelt said of his team's 41-34 advantage on the boards. “We came up with some key rebounds late. Again, I think that kept us in the game. We were fornuate to make enough shots, enough plays to get the win.”
Messiah's 14 threes were the most for the Falcons in a single game since the program hit for 14 against Widener University in a 75-59 win Feb. 17, 2007, while Wednesday's win was the first for Van Pelt in LVC Gymnasium since a 67-61 victory Jan. 27, 2007.
Now possessing a 3-3 mark in league play, the Falcons return home Saturday to face basement-dweller Arcadia University, which is still looking for its first conference win of the year.
“We battled tonight, and that was great to see,” Van Pelt said. “It's good to win close games because, let's face it, we're not going to blow anybody out. As coaches, this helps, too, because we get a first-hand look at late-game situations, personnel. I know we really believe we can win every game we play in our league. This was a big one for us, no question.”
