Box score
READING, Pa. ---
Mike Church scored a game-high 22 points and added nine rebounds to help Elizabethtown College to a 79-69 victory at Alvernia University in a Commonwealth Conference men's basketball game Saturday afternoon at the Physical Education Center.
Church, the reigning Commonwealth Conference Player of the Week, connected on 10-of-13 shots from the field as the Blue Jays (13-5 overall, 5-3 Commonwealth) shot 55.4 percent (31-for-56) for the game including 17-for-28 (60.7 percent) in the second half to defeat the Crusaders (13-6 overall, 4-4 Commonwealth) and move into sole possession of third place in the Commonwealth standings.
Keith Fogel added 18 points and six assists for the Blue Jays, who used an 11-0 run early in the second half to erase a one-point deficit and avenge an 88-80 loss to the Crusaders in the conference opener Dec. 2 at Elizabethtown.
Nick Rivera led the Crusaders with 20 points and nine rebounds, while Tad Gillis added 19 points, six rebounds and six assists as four players scored in double figures. However, Alvernia shot just 10-for-21 overall from the foul line and went 1-for-11 from three-point range in the second half.
The first half featured six ties and nine lead changes, with Alvernia leading by as many as eight points at 39-31 before taking a 41-37 lead to intermission. Seth Cornell led the Crusaders with 13 points in the first half, hitting all five of his field-goal attempts including three three-pointers, while Church paced the Blue Jays with 15 points and five rebounds.
Trailing 45-44, the Blue Jays took the lead for good at 47-45 on a three-pointer by Church with 17:36 to play. The basket sparked an 11-0 run that was capped by a Church layup with 14:12 to go which gave Elizabethtown a 55-45 lead.
Alvernia trimmed the deficit to 62-56 on a three-pointer by Gillis with 9:29 remaining, but Elizabethtown responded with seven straight points to go ahead 69-56 with 6:54 left on a layup by
Bryan Harrity.
Harrity finished with 11 points and five rebounds for the Blue Jays, while
Brian Allport grabbed a career-high seven rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench. Cornell went 0-for-7 from the field in the second half and finished with 15 points for the Crusaders, with Brian Nerney adding 10 points and eight rebounds.