Box score
ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. ---
Bryan Harrity came off the bench to score a career-high 21 points while
Keith Fogel added 19 points, eight assists and five steals as Elizabethtown College earned a key 92-85 victory over Lycoming College in Commonwealth Conference men's basketball action at Thompson Gymnasium Thursday night.
Mike Church posted his ninth double-double of the season with 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for the Blue Jays (15-8 overall, 7-6 Commonwealth), who overcame a 17-for-36 performance at the foul line to move into sole possession of fourth place in the conference with one regular-season game remaining.
The top three teams in the conference (Albright College at 10-3, Lycoming at 9-4 and Messiah College at 8-5) have clinched berths in next week's conference playoffs. At 7-6, the Blue Jays are one game ahead of a three-way tie between Lebanon Valley College, Widener University and Alvernia University at 6-7. Elizabethtown would lock up the fourth and final playoff spot with a win over Arcadia University (0-13) on Saturday at home.
Will Kelly led the Warriors (19-5 overall, 9-4 Commonwealth) with 19 points and 11 rebounds while Ishaan Davis added 18 points off the bench, including three three-pointers in the final 33 seconds after the Blue Jays had locked up the victory. However, Lycoming shot just 32.9 percent (23-for-70) from the field despite going 13-for-29 from three-point range.
Harrity's 21-point effort surpassed his previous career high of 14 points set against Wilkes on Dec. 9. He shot 10-for-13 from the field and also grabbed five rebounds while playing just 19 minutes. As a team, Elizabethtown shot an even 50 percent (35-for-70) from the field and canned five three-pointers in 16 tries.
The Blue Jays led 6-0 after two minutes and held a 13-2 lead after just 4 1/2 minutes of action. Lycoming would not get any closer than eight points at any point for the remainder of the game until Davis hit his final three-pointer of the night at the buzzer to set the final margin at seven.
Behind 52.8 percent shooting in the first half, Elizabethtown led 46-31 at intermission as Church led the Blue Jays with 11 points. Kelly paced the Warriors with game highs of 12 points and seven rebounds in the first half, but the rest of his teammates combined to shoot 6-for-28 from the floor.
The Blue Jays took their biggest lead of the night at 20 points on two occasions, the latter at 59-39 with 14:21 to go. Lycoming was able to cut the deficit to 11 points five times in the final six minutes, but did not pull within single digits until a three-pointer by Eric Anthony brought the Warriors within 80-71 with 1:48 to go.
Elizabethtown nursed the lead the rest of the way despite missing their first seven free-throw attempts of the second half and 14 of their first 22 tries. However, the Blue Jays sank their final five foul shots in the final 38 seconds, including a pair each from Fogel and
Travis Mettler in the final 17 seconds.
Josh Houseal also scored in double figures for the Blue Jays with 10 points and eight rebounds, including a fast-break dunk midway through the second half.
Joe Flanagan added eight points and seven rebounds for Elizabethtown, which outscored Lycoming 58-16 in the paint and converted 25 Warrior turnovers into 24 points.
Anthony finished 4-for-17 from the field for Lycoming and scored 13 points, while Johnathan Williams added 12 points and five rebounds before fouling out with 2:38 left. Jerald Williams tallied six points, five rebounds and a team-high seven assists for the Warriors, who matched the Blue Jays with 50 rebounds.