Elizabethtown College’s men’s and women’s basketball teams competed against Juniata College and Moravian College. The men’s team took two losses and the women’s team walked away with two wins and a home-court advantage for the Landmark Conference Championship Semifinals.
Wednesday, Feb. 13, the men’s team lost against Juniata 87-69. Senior Michael Pastore was a big player, making 18 points. Junior Ethan DuBois put Etown on the board early in the game, but Juniata was right behind and quickly took over the lead. Pastore made a three-pointer that brought the Blue Jays back to the game. This was followed by a layup from senior Matt Thomas and a three-pointer made by junior Connor Moffatt; the score was 12-8 in Etown’s favor.
A free throw by DuBois put the Blue Jays five points ahead and the lead was held by the Blue Jays until 9:11 was left in the first half. A three-pointer made by Juniata player Caidon Owen put Juniata back to the lead. The Blue Jays were able to get points back and played well. The first half ended 37-34 with Juniata leading.
Juniata kept its lead in the second half with a layup made by Marcus Hall 15 seconds into the half. Etown junior Bryce Greene made a layup, closing the point deficit for the Blue Jays, but by 15:39 left in the second half, Juniata was up by 11 points. Greene made another layup, but it was no match to Juniata. With 6:34 left in the game, the point lead was 24. The game ended 87-69 with Juniata taking the win.
Saturday, Feb. 16 the men took a loss against Moravian 83-75. The night was kicked off by recognizing the seniors for senior night. The seniors from the team are Brandon Berry, Josh Christ, Michael Pastore, Hugh McLaughlin III and Jalil and Jamil Pines-Elliot.
The top scorer for this game was Moffatt at 16 points. The first points of the game came from Jalil Pines-Elliot with an assist from Jamil Pines-Elliot.
Christ followed with a three-pointer, putting the Jays up five points. With 7:41 left in the first half, Moravian was up 13 points. The first half ended 35-34 with Moravian in the lead. Moravian kept the lead the rest of the game and with five seconds left, McLaughlin made a good jumper. The score was 83-75 with Moravian in the lead. This wrapped up the season for the men’s team.
The women’s team also went up against Juniata and Moravian. With a win over Juniata, the Blue Jays clinched home-court advantage for the Landmark Conference Championship Semifinals.
After a three-pointer made by junior Lydia Lawson followed by a three-pointer made by sophomore Veronica Christ, the Jays led 6-0. Lawson made a jumper, and a layup by Juniata player Gracie Stauffer put the score 8-2 for the Blue Jays. Etown led by ten points in the first quarter and by the end the score was 19-10 with Etown in the lead. In the second quarter, the Blue Jays kept the lead, only allowing Juniata two points. Etown ended the first half with a 28-point lead 40-12.
In the last quarter of the game, junior Mikayla Ruth made a good layup and put the Jays up 34 points with 6:42 left in the game. The final score was 63-42.
The end of the regular season for the women’s team ended with another win over Moravian, 82-79. Four players made double-digits for the team: Lawson made 18, first-year Angie Hawkins made 16, Christ made 15 and Ruth made 12.
Etown held the lead most of the game, Moravian came out with a fourth quarter surge. They led the quarter by 10 points, but it wasn’t enough to match Etown’s 13 point lead going into the quarter.
The women’s team will play in the Landmark Conference Championship Semifinals against Catholic Univeristy of America on Thursday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. looking for a spot in the Championship finals, Saturday, Feb. 23.
The women’s team will play in the Landmark Conference Championship Semifinals against Catholic Univeristy of America on Thursday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. looking for a spot in the Championship finals, Saturday, Feb. 23.
